Unbound V1
by Sender74
Summary: young children who have escaped from a lab have strange yet amazing powers. This story entails the adventures of Kane, one of the most special and powerful of the gifted children. Just so you guys know, this is only one version of the story. I am working on three.
1. Chapter 1

_**Authors note:**_

 _ **Hi! I'm new at this whole fanfiction website thing. I write for fun. I don't like putting timelines on my work, then it sort of takes the fun out of things. I have three versions of this story, mostly with the same characters. Whichever is more popular I'll upload. That is, if my stuff is even popular. Anyway, please be gentle on the feedback, but be honest. Thank you!**_

We were all sitting down around our table, Stein, Alice, Chase, Pheara and I talking quietly to make sure no one heard us. I was sitting at the head of the table.

"So for now all we have to do is lay low and wait. Don't do anything drastic, just fit in until we get any other orders. Understood?" Everyone else nodded. "Stein, you come with me. There's something I need to say." I told one guy at the back. He had gray hair, a stitched up lab coat and had his feet kicked up on the table. He nodded and we all left.

Stein and I walked the opposite direction from the others until we were at least a block away.

"What's up Kane?" He said, leaning against the wall as we stopped by another street light.

"There's something we need to find out. It's been nagging at me for a while."

"Please don't tell me it involves _that_."

"It does." I said as he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck as he cracked it.

I waved my hand and the shadows stretched. We walked into the alley next to us until we reached a doorway. There was an emblem on the doorway, a dragon breathing fire. It was made up of squares and trapezoids, yet it looked elegant and regal. I touched the door and the dragon glowed green. In fancy letters, the word _Graegor_ appeared, and the door opened.

Inside was what appeared to be a library, with books stacked as high as a building. There was a single desk with tons of empty journals and papers jumbled around the table.

Just as I took it all in, we heard footsteps on the smooth wood. _Thunk, thunk, thunk,_ and as I looked down I saw a stone cube with arms and legs. It reached up to my knees, and it had black eyes. It tilted up to look at me, since it's whole body was just a cube.

"El would love these guys." Stein said. El was our friend, one who was in the restaurant with us.

"You know the rules. No one is allowed to visit this place."

'I don't think they can even _get_ to this place." Stein said, looking back and seeing that the door had disappeared, replaced with solid wall.

"We need something on the Elementum grimoires." I told the little guy. It turned and pointed down the hallway with a squeaky "kyu", meaning for us to follow it.

It lead us through the labyrinth of a library until it stopped and pointed at a section to my right. It walked up and tapped a book with its arm(since it had no fingers). I pulled the book out and tossed it to Stein. He caught it, his head turned to the other direction, reading titles of other books. He eyed the book then opened it, flipping through pages.

"Golems were more useful than I thought." He said, grinning at me. I thanked the little golem and we headed back to the table.

"If what i'm guessing is true, then we have a long read ahead of ourselves. I'll read this, but I need a favor." I said.

"Yeah?"

"I need you to head to the academy. Here's a list of names. Check them out." I handed him names of students. He read over it then nodded, and walked towards a wall.

"Mind kicking me out?" He said, knocking on the wall and smirking. I blinked and then the door appeared. and he was gone.

 _Now for some extra info_ I thought as I opened the book and started to read.

 _Elements are substances that cannot be separated into simpler substances by chemical means. Water, fire, electricity. Some are found as liquids, others gases, and yet others as solids. The Elementum grimoires are used to learn about, create and even control certain elements. They can be used as many styles, from defense to creation to destruction. Yet the most dangerous is the-_

My whole body tensed up suddenly as something flashed in my mind. The list I had gave Stein, at first I thought they were victims, but I was wrong.

They were suspects.

The whole investigation started because there were hints of freak disasters in the academy. Kitchen fires, earthquakes, blackouts. And the people I kept in track seemed to be victims, but it was the other way around.

 _Damn!_ I thought as I jumped out of the chair and headed towards the door. I busted out of the alley and headed for the restaurant's parking lot. There was a bike parked in the sidewalk. A blue Kawasaki.

I jumped on, threw up the kickstand and the key. In no time I was on the street, revving the throttle to the point I was doing a wheelie. The academy was across the town. A ten minute drive by the speed limit.

 _I can make it in four_ I thought, grinning.

Street lights seemed to grow dull and the scene around me stretched and the street and car lights dulled

The next thing I knew, I was going to crash into one heck of a party.

I saw the huge familiar building in front of me, and I had no time to brake. I grinned as I gunned the bike through the gates and into the patio. There was a window right next to the front doors, and that's what I was aiming for.

I saw a brief glimpse of something hurling towards a kid in a stitched up lab coat. Then I jumped off and hit the glass.

The last thing that was on my mind was _Where's my helmet..?_

The glass broke and I twisted in mid-air, throwing my arm out. The glass reacted to my hand like magnets to metal, and as I twisted, shards of glass followed in a swirl. I landed just in front of Stein and thrust my hand in front of me. All the glass shards same back together, forming a square pane in front of us.

I was just in time as a ball of fire hit the glass, spreading on the glass but not reaching neither me nor Stein. As the fireball disappeared, the glass shattered again.

"Nice entrance." Stein said grinning at me. I paid him no heed as I flapped my hand, smoke rising from my fingertips.

"I'm not doing that again." I said laughing. The skin on my hand was roughly burned. I could see that even my flesh was charred.

"Nice to know our school has such great security. How does no one notice a big hole in the glass and a motorcycle still running outside?" Stein said, pointing to my not-so-quiet entrance.

"I left my bike on?!" I exclaimed as I turned around. I heard the engine and saw it's headlights illuminating.

"Well, what a party crasher." Said a voice behind me. I turned and of course regretted it. Standing there was at least six students.

"Well, hello, _drama club_ "

Five guys and six girls. That was only few of the drama club members, but if they all had control of elements, then it was my job to put them in their place.

"You guys used your gifts for the wrong purpose. Now, answer to your actions." I growled the last words, throwing my hand out to the side.

"'For the wrong purpose' you say? We only used them to play." Said one girl, grinning. She reminded me of a snake.

"You used gifts to wreak chaos, and that's not their purpose." I said simply. I tensed my legs and was about to jump when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Wait, let me take care of them." Stein said, grinning wickedly. His eyes had a mischievous glow to them.

I sighed. "Alright, I lend you my speed."

"My favorite." Was all he said, then with lightning fast speed, he pounced towards them with his hands open. They didn't even have time to react. In the blink of an eye, he thrust his left hand out under his right arm and struck a guy in the chest. He just gasped and slumped.

The others stood their in shock, staring at their friend. Stein looked up grinning, the light on his glasses covering his eyes.

I turned around and walked outside. I turned my motorcycle off and checked the tires. I could hear muted _thuds_ and by the time I walked back to see all the other kids unconscious. Stein walked back to me.

"Your ability is useful only at times like these." I teased. His ability was _handicap._ He could take away other people's abilities and even give them amnesia specifically centered around their abilities.

"Check them out." He said as I closed my eyes. I focused on Stein and I could _see_ the abilities. Not like reading or images, they were just there.

"Fire, water, ice, lightning and... mercury?" I muttered as I said these out loud.

"Like the planet?"

"Mercury is a toxic silvery liquid. It's amazing no one died because of them." I said. I was sympathetic for them. They didn't know the rules for things like these. It wasn't really their fault.

"Hmm, if only I can completely stop their powers.." Stein said, putting his hand to his chin in thought.

"wait, you don't actually take them away?"

"No. My handicap can only analyze it, lock it down and make them forget about it. Sometimes I can even strengthen and share them."

"That's why we make great partners." I said.

"Yup, so did you get them?"

"Cyrokinesis, crystallokinesis, and electrokinesis." I said.

"Ice, crystal, and lightning. Nice choices."

"Thanks." I said. We left the building and walked to where I parked my bike.

"I'm heading back to the library. I'll catch you in school soon." I said, hopping on the bike and grabbing my helmet.

"Alright. I have some business to do here. Catch you later." I started the bike and drove off, this time with my helmet on.

 _Franklin Stein. One of the best teachers I know partner. The others at the meeting are just newbies, Stein and I are the only ones who know what's actually going on. I'll tell him to return their powers and teach them how to use them properly_. The wind rushed by as I thought about the events of the evening as I looked for a place without lights.

I was deep in thought as I drove through the busy streets. I turned on the radio in my helmet, hearing the loud music. I turned into another dark alley, parked my bike and once again entered the Library.

This time, there were more golems milling about. I put my hand out and some of them sank into the ground, but when they came back up they changed. Some were made of diamonds, some emeralds, then jade, amethyst, garnet, and finally, one obsidian. My geokinesis mixed with crystallokinesis, rock and crystal, were useful, but to make the golems I learned Quintekinesis, the manipulation of life forces. I gave the golems life, but only temporarily. Every time I made a new one I would get weaker, but every time one died or expired, I would get stronger. After all, it's impossible to create life with your mind, but it is possible to share it.

I walked to a set of double doors and walked out. There was a magnificent garden glowing under hundreds of stars. Pathways wove through oak and sycamore trees, and at the center stood a stone in the middle of a pond. I headed over to the rock, wading slowly through the pond. I sat crossed legged at the center of the stone and meditated. I concentrated on my breathing and my energy got stronger. I stood up straight for more air to flow. I was like this for a long time, controlling my breathing. The calmness around me helped,and when I extended my hand, a light blue energy appeared. It looked like flames, but when I concentrated the light grew stronger until it formed into a little sphere, no bigger than the palm of my hand.

I examined it closely, watching how it would fade or brighten depending on my concentration and will.

I waved my hand and it dispersed. Now was the real test. I entwined my hands, my index and middle fingers on each hand pointed upwards. I closed my eyes and focused on my heartbeat. Everything around me went black, and the only sound I heard was the _thump, thump, thump, thump_ of my heart. The slow and steady rhythm was the only sound, the only thing I needed to concentrate on.

I saw a glow. _Felt,_ more like it. Right in the center of my chest. I inhaled deeply, then, focusing all my will, exhaled, expelling all my energy.

When I opened my eyes, blue lights swirled around the entire garden. It flowed like a river. With a little more will I Expelled all energy from the trees around me. Now It was green along with blue, flowing beautifully around the garden. I stood watching the faint lights as they swirled around. It was basically a replication of the northern lights, but smaller.

I put my hands out on either side of me and brought them together in a clap. All the light collected in my palms, and the night was dark again.

Just as I was about to leave I heard small footsteps running towards me. Before I could react something knocked me over and I fell face first. I would have put my arms in front of my face but they were to my side flailing for balance.

I toppled over and almost fell into the water. Almost immediately I heard giggling behind me.

I turned to see Sue sitting on top of me. She was no older than five, had black hair and gray eyes, the color of a storm.

"Yay, I surprised Papa!" She exclaimed, bouncing up and down on my back. I rolled over and stood up, causing her to fall off. I picked her up with one arm, grabbing her by the back of her shirt. She just hung there giggling. I set her down laughing.

"Congrats. But it won't happen again." I said. All she did was hug me. tightly, her head just barely past my waist. When she let go she lifted her arms to pick her up. I did so and put her on my shoulders, walking back into the library. When I walked in there was a group of golems huddled, waiting to play with Sue. When I set her down she was off chasing golems. I followed them into a living room with a couch and a small table in front of it.

One of the golems walked up to me, a book sitting on it's head. I picked it up and read the title as Sue and the golems all gathered on the couch

" _The nutcracker_ again?" I said, "haven't we read this one already?"

"We like it when Papa reads this one."

"Why?"

"You're the nutcracker." Was all she said, hugging a diamond golem. The golem looked confused, as if it was wondering why it was above the ground.

"Fine, but if I read this then you have to go to sleep after this, okay?"

"Maybe." She said, with a 'tongue-in-cheek' tone.

I sighed and sat down next to her. As I opened the book she huddled closer and ducked under my arms. I had my arms wrapped around her, my hands holding the book open in front of us. The golems all sat down and I began to read from where her favorite part started:

 _Soon Marie heard a soft knocking at the door and a faint little voice, "Miss Stahlbaum, open the door and have no fear. I bring good news!" Marie swiftly opened the door and found that the Nutcracker had turned into a prince!_

 _The prince took Marie's hand and told her how he was really Godfather Drosselmeier's nephew, and an evil spell had turned him into a nutcracker. When he defeated the Mouse King, the spell was broken and he was turned back into a prince._

 _"Oh, Miss Stahlbaum," said the prince, "what splendid things I can show you in this hour of victory over my enemy, if you will follow me a little way."_

 _Marie agreed and followed the prince to the big clothes cupboard in the entrance hall. The door of the cupboard was wide open. The prince stepped inside, pulled a tassel, and a little ladder came down through the sleeve of a traveling coat._

 _Marie climbed the ladder and soon passed through the sleeve. When she looked out through the neck hole, she found herself in a fragrant meadow._ -

I stopped, seeing that she was almost asleep. I put the book down and picked her up. She hugged my neck so she wouldn't fall. I walked into her room, dimming the lights and sitting her on her bed.

Then I tried to get her hands off my neck, but they wouldn't budge. She held on tightly. When I looked down, her eyes were open, staring up at me.

"I wanna stay with Papa." She murmured.

"Why? Is there something wrong with this room?" I said, looking around carefully.

"I'm scared."

I wouldn't blame her.

"So do you want to sleep on the couch?"

"No, I wanna sleep in Papa's room." I sighed and picked her back up, carrying her to my room. Within the _Graegor_ , distance didn't exist. I could simply imagine what room I wanted to enter, go through a random door, and I would be in that room. I was thankful I even found this place.

I read it from a book. In the Ancient Greek times, the inventor Daedalus invented a maze, the Labyrinth. It was as if it was alive, playing tricks on your mind. I also read that the _Graegor_ was the exact opposite of the Labyrinth. It cleared your mind and helped you to find what you sought. The Labyrinth and the _Graegor_ were the two opposite sides of Daedalus' mind.

I cleared my head as I walked into my room. It was nothing special, with a desk on one side and a bed on the other. I laid Sue down on my bed, and she fell asleep soundly. I sighed and went to my desk, sitting down and turning on the little lamp. I flicked one of the balls on a Newton's cradle, hearing it quietly _tick tick._

I was bout to get a pen and paper when I felt my hand light up. I remembered the burn I had gotten from the ordeal at the academy. I had put up a small shield on my hand to use the motor, but now it had expired due to my exhaustion from today. I decided to just go to sleep, turning off the lamp and getting in the bed.

Just as I laid down Sue scooted closer to me. She nestled her head on my shoulder and grabbed my shirt with her little hand. I decided to just let it be and fell asleep. I had a feeling tomorrow was going to be big.

End of chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hello again! Here is another chapter. These are pre-written. I wrote these a long time go, and if I keep gaining popularity with it, then I'll keep posting more. Thank you!**_

* * *

I walked into the school building, Sue right behind me. I held her hand as I walked her into her grade sector. We walked into a room with colorful paintings, big posters and little toys strewn about. I turned to her and knelt down.

"I might be a little late coming here to pick you up, okay?"

"Okay." Was all she said before she ran off to go play with her friends. I headed towards my own grade sector, ninth. As I did I saw stein carrying his suitcase into the class he had. I followed him into the room, greeted him, and sat down in his desk.

"So did you give them their gifts back?" I asked him,kicking my feet up on the desk.

"Not yet. First i'll teach them the basics."

"sounds good. By the way, i'm gonna need an excuse note."

"Again?" He said, clearly annoyed.

'Don't worry, this time it's important.

"Better be." Was all he mumbled as he gave me a small note and I left.

As I walked back into the library, the golems all surrounded me. They grabbed the legs of my jeans and pulled, trying to get me to follow them. I did, and they led me into Sue's room, where they stopped and pointed to where her dresser was. I opened a drawer and found a wrapped package that said "for papa". The golem said "kyu" and lifted both its hands up to me. Then I realized what it was.

She made a gift for me. That's why she slept in my room, to make sure I wouldn't find out.

My heart fell at this. I didn't like it when people got me presents, but it would be worse if I didn't accept it from her.

I headed back to the academy just as class had started. I sat through long lectures, boring lessons, and the teasing kids. I even threw a paper airplane at Stein, but he caught it and threw it back with the word "stop" on it. So I sat and wrote notes as the classes passed by. Then the bell rang, signaling lunch. Everyone walked out except Stein. I saw him looking at a small piece of paper.

I walked up to him. "What's wrong?" I asked

He handed me the note. It was addressed to me. Here is what is said:

We know who you are and where you are. everyone around you is in danger, those you love are being targeted by our pawns. One wrong move and they're gone. If you try to tell anyone else, they're gone. Meet us at the park at midnight. And keep a close eye on Sue.

-M

My hands shook as I looked up at Stein. He had no expression, he just looked at me, studying my reaction. I crumpled the note in my hand and it caught on fire. As it burned to cinders, I could hear my breath getting more ragged. Rage was boiling inside me.

"Who wrote this." It was more of a demand than a question. I looked to Stein with red in my vision.

"You know I can't tell you." He said calmly. I slammed my fist into the board, feeling electricity coursing through my fingers. I screamed as I lifted my other hand to the chairs in the classroom and lighting shot out of my palm into the air. Smoke rose out of the center of my palm. Stein just sighed.

"Do as they say, i'll make preparations.

"Good. I'll leave Sue in your care for tonight. Please guard her."

He nodded, his expression as serious as mine.

I left to lunch to go look for Sue. I found her talking to her teacher, Ms. Caroline. She was fairly young, in her twenties, and a nice teacher to boot.

"Don't worry, I'll keep it a secret." They both stopped talking as I walked into the room. Sue had a mischievous look in her eyes while Ms. Caroline was hiding a smile behind her hand.

"Papa!" Sue exclaimed, hugging me. I knelt to hug her back, nodding to her teacher. I lifted Sue up onto my shoulders.

"Good afternoon Ms. Caroline. Did she behave?"

"Yes she did. In fact, she's the nicest in the whole class." She flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Great. Listen, I need someone to look after her for me tonight. Something came up."

"No problem, she can stay at my place." I thanked her and set Sue down. We walked out of the class and into the Quad. It was a big grass field with benches and trees. We sat down under a tree.

"Hey Sue, sorry but you'll need to stay at Ms. Caroline's place for tonight. I have something to do."

"Okay." She said, eating a peanut butter sandwich. She scooted closer to me, and I wrapped my arm around her. Who would go after us? The kids in drama club have amnesia, so they are out of the picture. I thought.

"Papa?" I snapped out of my thoughts and looked to see Sue staring at me worriedly.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something."

"Papa looked mad. His expression was scary." She said, pouting.

"Sorry." Was all I could say. The bell rang, signaling us to head back to class. I dropped her off in her room and headed back to Stein. As I passed him I sent him a message:

Sue is staying at Ms. Caroline's.

I'll keep her safe he sent back, the light reflecting on his glasses, hiding his eyes. I felt relieved knowing Stein was watching over her.

I sat through the rest of the classes in even less ease. When the bell finally rang I ran out, made sure Sue was okay and said goodbye, then headed back to the Graegor. I sat in the garden calming myself. I meditated until my heart, aura and mind were monotone. I thought of my goal, and what was ahead of me. Then, when everything was quiet, I heard him.

You came. I thought.

You whose soul, heart and mind are calm, speak your desires. the voice, or presence I should say, was resonating with power. This ancient force had shown itself again.

It is time to renew our contract. I declared, keeping myself as monotone as possible. I tried to sound neutral, which is why I referred to monotone, meaning not too high or not too low.

If it is your will. What will you sacrifice?

I showed him the new powers I had acquired.

Very well, I accept. Command me as you will! Almost immediately I felt a surge of power. I felt the presence enter my mind, our thoughts and memories becoming one. The feeling was familiar, but amazing nonetheless.

I accept terms of this contract, let us be entwined together to dominate all on this earth! We both yelled in our thoughts. With that last incantation, we were sealed within each other.

Now let's hunt. I thought, standing up. Then I disappeared, moving faster than the human eye could follow. I reappeared on top of the academy, looking at the city displayed before me.

Trace all the malicious thoughts throughout a five mile radius. Give me the worst ones.

The presence acknowledged my command and in no time I had zeroed in on three single people, heading right towards each other. Now to check on Stein.

I headed towards an apartment building, where Ms. Caroline lived temporarily. I couldn't sense Stein anywhere, which alarmed me. I checked into Caroline's apartment, but found it empty. I tried to look for them in near restaurants or shops, but they were nowhere to be found. I couldn't even sense Stein, which alarmed me. I knew of no normal person who can stand up to the professor.

Eventually I searched the city. It was almost dawn when I almost gave up. Then I found a small trace. Stein. When I found him, he was unconscious, lying with a bleeding head.

"Stein!" I yelled. His body twitched and he got back up, thankfully. I checked his head, but the injury wasn't at all fatal. He was okay, but that was even more confusing.

"Where's Sue?" I asked, looking into his eyes. He didn't need to answer, his solemn face gave it away.

Sue was gone.

I backed away from him, slamming my fist into the wall. It made a dent in the bricks, but I didn't care. Not even the pain of my hand was important.

Darn it. Darn it! I screamed into my head, hitting the wall again and again. I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling utterly hopeless.

"Where are they?" I muttered, turning to Stein. He was leaning against the wall, still dizzy.

"The Hangars. About thirty miles from here. We have to hurry. They have Caroline too.

I agree with the human. Now isn't the time for woe. After all, this is why you had renewed the contract, correct?

It was. Now it was time to put it in use. I turned to Stein, nodding. I tracked my way until I found my bike and drove to the Hangars.

They were more of a museum, where they put old or antique planes. There were six buildings surrounding one larger one, the warehouse. It was just as enormous as the others.

I climbed up onto the roof, looking for any windows or vents.

Boy, do not enter.

Why not?

You will not like what you see

That made it worse. I rushed to the window, peering down. There were men surrounding two chairs. Without looking at anything else, I broke through the glass and crashed down on an unlucky guy. I put extra force under my feet, and when I landed on him I felt a satisfying crack.

I stood up to see them pointing guns at me. i looked to the chairs to see Sue and ms. Caroline unconscious. I felt my anger peak, but that wasn't all. Sue had a bruise on the side of her head and a cut on her cheek.

"Which one of you laid a hand on them?" My voice had a growl to it, and it sounded as if it were several voices talking, but I didn't care. The anger was increasing my energy, and my hair that usually reached down to my eyes was floating up, stopping about two inches above my eyes and spiking up.

The other guys were in shock. This blue light was circling around a guy who had just broken in through the ceiling, had survived a brutal crash, and knocked out a comrade while falling.

"Answer me!" I yelled, moving fast and grabbing one of them by the throat. I picked up completely, and my uniform from the academy burned off, turning into a black skintight suit with no sleeves and a coat trailing behind me.

The man I held in the air was too shocked to speak, and so decided to shoot me. I dodged the bullet, just moving my head an inch to the left. Before he could fire any more shots I twisted his hand, wrenching the gun and throwing it to the side.

"You're going to need more than a gun if you want to stop me." I told him. I threw him into the ground, sliding a few feet.

The others decided it would be easier to shoot me. They all fired at me, but I dodged them again and again.

Time for the big show. I said in my mind.

Are you sure of your decision? You will never be able to go back.

Do it. Almost immediately, the presence was gone, and the blue light surrounding me grew brighter. I felt changes occur, and when the light had disappeared, my arm had turned into an enormous blade, growing from as wide as my chest to as wide as my head,and then angled inwards to a sharp point. The sword was as long as my whole body, but lightweight. All the bullets landed on the blade, not even a scratch appearing.

"I'll finish this." I said. In no time flat I was across the warehouse and sliced a rifle in half. With an elbow to the back of the head, he was disabled. I took out the others just as quickly, slowing to a stop and exhaling.

Then I heard loud, slow clapping from the shadows. I turned to see a boy no older than me. I noticed his academy uniform but not his face.

"Impressive, Kane. I didn't think you would be able to take out my little slaves. Now, how about a fight on more, even levels"

"Your on." I said, facing him sideways and pointing my blade towards him. For a second, I saw the reflection of my face. My eyes were a pure red, with a circle around my eyes. The circles and lines reminded me when I looked into a scope of a gun. I looked back at the boy who had pulled out what looked like a turret. He aimed them right at me, not bothering to use the scope.

"You're going to suffer for what you did to Sue."

"I can make her suffer more, if that's what you want." He said with a sinister grin on his face.

"Don't you lay a finger on her!" I roared, leaping in the air. I had crossed half of the whole warehouse in half the jump. When I took off he fired eight rockets at me, all spreading outward and then turning to me. I put the end of my sword to the ground and spun, electricity sparking up, When I threw my sword up I conducted lighting, so when I slashed it outwards the strings of electricity connected with the rockets. They all exploded safely away from me and the girls.

I continued my charge, and heard something click from his gun. Then I saw a chain slide off, and he fired, fully automatic.

I stopped and disappeared, moving fast enough to dodge all the bullets. The weight of the sword was no problem, and didn't get in they way of my speed. I moved left and right, slowly getting closer to the boy. As I got closer, I noticed his red hair and brown eyes. He laughed as I ran from his shots. Then I got close enough.

I jumped above the aim of his gun, somersaulting in mid-air. My blade slashed his gun, cutting the barrel in a clean slash. I landed behind him, crouching and swinging my foot, tripping him.

He landed hard, his mini gun off to the side. I turned around and pointed my blade to his neck.

"Yield." I demanded, He looked up to the reflection in the mirror and panicked. Not the kind that was caused from a blade at your throat, but the kind that was caused from seeing a ghost.

"Feel the suffering of others you caused." I said, seeing a haunting face in the reflection. It had slits for eyes and a smile that people would carve on a pumpkin. it's eyes and mouth were glowing blue, and horns grew from the top of it's head. It roared a silent roar, and seemed to creep inside the boy. It crawled back into the reflection and the boy laid there panting and sweating.

"Now repent and forget." I said, pulling out a silver pistol. The barrel was elongated, patterns flowing on it. I fired point blank, but it didn't kill him. The bullet was made of aura, designed to erase memory. He lay there unconscious as I slid the gun away and my sword disappeared. I walked to where Sue and Caroline were, untying them just as they woke up.

"Where am I?" the young teacher asked, confused.

"The Hangars. Good thing I found you in time. Do you remember anything?"

"No, just people breaking through the door. How is Sue?"

"She's fine, just knocked out. A bruise and a cut. Nothing serious, thank goodness."

"Kane, i'm so sorry." She murmured with tears in her eyes. "I was so useless."

"Hey, hey, don't worry about it." I said, comforting her. :"You're not at fault here."

She nodded, still holding back tears. I picked Sue up in a princess position, carrying her out of the Hangars. When I exited I saw Stein pull up in a car with a few cops behind him. They arrested and interrogated the other people who were associates. I decided not to press charges against the boy and they set him free on the account of memory loss.

I was sitting outside making a cover story when Sue, sitting next to me, woke up. She looked around, confused, but when she saw me tears filled in her eyes.

"Daddy!" She wailed, hugging me. I hugged her back, lifting her up. She cried on my shoulder, and I couldn't help but feel guilty. I could have reacted sooner, I could have prevented all this.

"I'm sorry." I whispered, hugging her tighter. i looked to the officer, and he nodded and gave us space. We sat there as she cried. She eventually bawled herself to sleep, so I carried her back. Ms. Caroline was fine, and she had decided to head back to her apartment. I put sue in front of me on the bike and held on to her as I rode back. I called in on Stein, who was treating his head at his own house. He said they shot at him and when he was distracted, they had knocked him out. I made sure he made it home and then headed into the Graegor.

I set Sue down on the sofa. The golems all surrounded her, almost expectantly. I sat next to her, waiting. As I waited I tried to meditate.

You summon me once more? I heard.

Yes. I need another contract.

Very well.

I, Kane Gear, accept the contract! I felt something shift within me, and the presence felt as if it had made room for itself inside my mind. I also felt something within my abilities shift. By the time I opened my eyes I saw sue stir. She sat up, rubbing her eyes. When she looked around, she started to cry again. The golems stood there silently, shifting back and forth awkwardly.

"It's okay." I murmured, hugging her again. She slowly calmed down, sitting on my lap.

"Is Ms. Caroline okay?" She asked shakily.

"Yeah, she's safe. What about you? How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay." She said.

"Don't worry, those guys won't hurt you again."

"Daddy got them?"

"Yeah. And I promise you-" I said, kneeling down and looking her in the eyes. "I promise that I won't let anyone else hurt you."

She stayed quiet and nodded.

"Let's go to bed." I said. I led her to my room and she fell asleep. I sat in my desk, watching her sleep.

your decision will affect her, you realize that? I heard in my thoughts.

That's why i'll protect her with my power.

The Archangel will not simply abide by your orders.

I'll make it obey.

You? A mere human? Angels are the warriors of your creator, and you try to make an Arch obey? The other Choirs will rid of you.

And they will learn that I will go through Heaven and Hell to protect the people close to me. It's the least I can do.

You think lowly of yourself, and admire the others around you. How pathetic.

I stopped listening to him. I held my hand out, feeling the power of the Archangel. Things are about to get interesting, I thought.

End of chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3

"Ow, ow, ow, ow." I grunted as I woke up to Sue jumping up and down on my back.

"Wake up Daddy!" She screamed in my ear.

"No." I mumbled as I rolled over, grabbing her and setting her down next to me.

"Meanie." She pouted.

"Fine, fine, i'm up." I said, picking her up upside down.

"H-hey, Papa!" She screamed as I carried her upside down out of my room. she tried to use her tiny fists, hitting me on my back but I barely felt them. I carried her all the way out of the _Graegor_ and sat her with a thump on the bike. She looked up at me with an angry pout.

"What? You said you wanted to go to school."

"Meanie." She said, looking down.

"Oh, right, and guess who's birthday is today?" I said, kneeling so I could look her in the eyes. She giggled, failing at holding back her laughter.

"Happy Birthday, Sue." I said, chuckling. We hugged, me lifting her up, swinging her around.

"Tell me what you want. Today's your special day."

"Let's go to the fair!" The request took me by surprise. She didn't like the big rides, not even the Ferris wheel.

"Well, if that's what you want." I said, shrugging. I drove to the academy, dropping her off at her own class. I walked to my class and talked to Stein as kids walked in and got ready for class.

"The news saw you last night." He said. "You have to be more careful with your skills."

"Careful? Stein they _shot_ at me. Not to mention they held Sue and Caroline hostage. What would you have done that I didn't have?"

"I understand your point, but i'm just saying to watch out now. Be more careful from now on."

I sighed. "Understood."

I walked to my seat as the bell rung, signifying the start of the class.

"Well guys, today we have a new student. Welcome her kindly." He said, motioning for someone to enter.

A girl walked in. she was my height with long red hair and amber eyes. she held her little bag with both hands in front of her, and she smiled to the class.

"This is Sarah Levare. She's an exchange from the North Eastern Ruin." At that, everyone sat up. The cities around the world were named 'Ruins'. And the North Eastern was known for having very powerful and rich people. Thanks to this, everyone had their eyes on her. Except for me, that is. I was looking out the window, thinking about Sue's birthday, and what I should get her.

"You can sit next to Kane over there, staring into space." Stein with emphasis. I saluted to him, as mocking as possible. She walked out and sat next to me.

"Kane." I said, holding up my hand.

"Sarah." She said politely, shaking it. We chatted for about a minute and then I lost interest. I continued to stare out the window as Stein started his lesson.

I finally asked to be excused out of boredom. He let me, understanding that I needed to buy a gift. I drove to a jewelry shop and looked around for a while.

"May I help you?" The store clerk asked, smiling at me. I was the only one there, so I decided to let her help.

"Uhh, yeah. I need a gift for my sister. It's her birthday." I said. I lied, because I knew there would be trouble if I said 'daughter'.

"Oh, is she young?"

I nodded.

"Then how about this one?" She asked while holding up a necklace with a butterfly made of silver. There was amethyst in the center and in dots lining the wings.

"It's perfect." I said in shock. I overly thanked her and bought the gift.

"Come back soon!" She said, waving her hand as I left. I drove back to the academy in time for lunch. So I picked up Sue and we sat under a tree.

"Hey Sue, close your eyes." I said.

"Okay." She did so and I slipped the necklace around her neck. When she opened them, they opened wide as they saw the gift. She held it in her hands.

"Happy birthday." I said heartily. She hugged me, squealing.

"thank you thank you thank you thank you!" She screamed next to my ear. I couldn't help but laugh at this. When she let go she reached in her little backpack and pulled out a package.

"I have a present for Papa!" She held it up to me, and I unwrapped it. It was a flute, a small one with silver runes etched into it. The letters translated to: _For my protector._

"Wow Sue, this is great." I said in awe.

"Uncle Stein says you used to play the flute." She said, holding her hands behind her back.

"Well yeah, I used to." I said, not wanting to admit it.

"Play it."She said, hopping up and down in excitement.

"W-well, I can't play it here. and besides, I haven't played in years."

"Aww." She put on her puppy eyed expression.

"Tell you what, i'll play it when we get home. _After_ we celebrate your birthday." I promised, patting her on the head. She grinned happily, and we sat there, me listening to her talk.

"Papa, who's that?" She asked as I saw the new student Sarah walking towards us.

"Just a new student." I said, looking away.

"Ooh Papa has a crush!" She yelled

"P-papa?!" I heard as I looked up to see Sarah standing there, staring at me in shock.

"U-um, I came to ask you something, but uh I can see you're busy." She left quickly.

I sighed. "Sue, head back to class. We'll celebrate your birthday after school." I stood up and ran after Sarah, waving bye to Sue.

"Sarah!" I yelled after her. "We need to talk."

I was about to grab her shoulder when I tripped on I don't know what. I was airborne, then crashed into Sarah. We toppled over and I landed right on top of her.

"Ah! S-sorry!" I yelled, rolling over and helping her up.

"What's your problem?" She mumbled.

"Listen, about the whole 'papa' thing-"

"Don't worry, I understand, you pervert." She said.

"Can you listen to me? Ugh." I grew tired of talking and morphed, turning into pure energy. The blue form took the shape of a dragon, and I swooped down and picked her up. She yelled in shock, looking up at me in wonder. I flew her to the top of the academy's spire. It felt great to exercise my aura, and I set her down at the top, releasing all the energy. It dispersed, little flames and spheres still lingering for only a little. I heard a faint roar of a dragon when I let all the energy go.

"You want to talk now?" I asked, standing straight and folding my arms.

"H-how did you- that thing-" She stammered frantically.

"Calm down, i'm not gonna bite."

'W-was that a d-dragon?"

"Yeah. I needed some way to get your attention. Now listen, I-" I got interrupted as I felt a solid impact hit me square in the back. Then it yanked me into the air, so suddenly it was hard to react. I bent my legs, lowered my arms into an X, and summoned energy as quickly as I could, and threw my arms out to the side. The energy expanded further than I expected, and it took the shape of an enormous owl, spreading it's wings. The thing on my back detached, and I circled back into the ground.

When I hit the ground the energy dissipated like fog. I saw Stein running up to me.

"What happened? Why are you using your gift?" He demanded. That was when we heard the explosion. It rattled the ground, and I saw black smoke curling towards the sky. The smoke took shape of a Raven, flapping it's wings and spreading smoke and ashes.

"There's your answer." I said. "I've got to take care of this. Oh by the way, Sarah's at the top of the spire. Good luck with that." I ran off, using my speed. There was a faint trail of smoke coming from the enormous bird, and it lead behind the academy. I skidded to a stop to find three guys close together.

"Hey!" I yelled, but they paid me no heed. I walked closer and shoved one. He didn't move nor look at me. That was when I saw the other two faces.

smoke was leaking out of every hole in their faces. Their mouths, ears and even their eyes.

 _Gear, leave!_ I heard the presence say.

"Huh?" I jumped high into the air as the ground around me exploded. I landed to see a circle of ash, but the strangest part was the smoke rising from it.

" _Do not interfere."_ I heard as the smoke took the shape of a woman.

"Lady, that's my hobby. Interfering pays." I joked.

" _Walk away or you will die."_ It hissed. it seemed as if there were more than one voices, but I couldn't tell.

"I can see you have a hobby as well."

" _Everyone you love will be enslaved."_ I straightened up at more she talked the more solid her form became.

"That's why i'm here." My patience was running thin, and I had to take care of this quickly.

" _You do not falter._ " She noted.

"Mhm." I said, taking a stance.

" _You will not be able to defeat me. Your a disgrace."_

"And I have a habit," I said, breaking into a run. My foot dug into the ground, kicking up dust, and I disappeared, running to the left. "Of proving people," I grew closer to her as she looked around, confused. "Wrong!" I yelled as I landed a hit right into her side. I put my energy into my punch, and the smoke dissipated. I rolled into a stop, admiring my handiwork.

I then turned to the three guys. I walked up and bashed one on the head. Not even flinching. _I have to get the smoke out of them._

I sat in the middle of them and summoned my energy. It exploded out of me, splitting into three shapes. They dived into the three around me, and in no time at all the smoke had diseased and the energy came flooding back. I flooded more aura,and soon it had turned into a glowing orb. When I concentrated harder, lightning started sparking around it. A little more and a thin green tongue of flame erupted. I threw it at the raven, hitting it right under the beak. It shrieked, dissipating into nothing.

I sat there trying to catch my breath. I can make it so I can reach unlimited amounts of aura, but for a limited amount of time.

"Oh crap, Sue." I morphed back into energy, this time the form of a comet, and rocketed to the front side of the academy, landing right behind the panicking students. I ran to the younger sectors, but didn't find Sue there. I ran to the tree we usually ate near,and found Sue hiding behind the tree.

I was about to run to her when I saw a growing shadow behind her. _Not shade,_ I thought, _smoke_.

"Sue, get down!" I yelled, charging. Just as the form solidified, this time into a masculine form. I jumped over her and hit the smoke, but it moved a few yards away.

" _Yes, come face me. show me your true power."_

"I don't care who you are or what you want, but keep your hands _off my daughter."_ at the last words I could hear the voice of the beast, the presence inside me.

The form just chuckled and solidified. It's form was no more specific, just a black figure of a human.

" _Show me the power inside you, or, as your scientific friends liked to say, your_ _ **Arch Gear**_."

"don't you _ever_ mention those names again!" I knelt to the ground. I concentrated, and felt specs of energy, my aura, approaching me from somewhere else. When I opened my eyes, I saw specs flying towards me. They were like metallic rectangles with circuit lines glowing blue and coursing through each one. I stood up and put my hands into a pose, my fingers crossed and my index and middle fingers straight up. The objects flew closer and closer to me. I gave them a new direction, and they all fell to the ground around me and my opponent.

" _Interesting."_

"Not yet." i said as they all flew out of the ground and swirled around me. They connected to my shoulder blades and grew outwards, becoming wings. The glow turned violet and I stretched them upwards, expelling tremendous amounts of energy.

"Ready." I said. I held my hands sideways and pistols appeared, with long elongated barrels.

 _Tsseeeeeewwww._ I rocketed towards the smoke, kicking it under the chin. I backflipped, hit the ground, and charged again. I fanned my wings and placed my feet on the figure's shoulders. I crossed my arms into an X,my hands upside down so the barrels were angled towards each other in front of his forehead.

I fired shot after shot, blue energy instead of actual bullets. I roared as I fired more and more, double tap not even describing my speed. I stopped, and jumped of, crossing my wings behind him. I spread them swiftly, slicing the smoke. It was over

" _Not yet."_ I heard a mocking voice. I turned and saw that the smoke and ashes spreading into a wide circle around me. It was growing faster and swifter. It grew into numerous forms, but these were hideous animals. They charged at me from all sides. _Fun,_ I thought.

I stood in place, moving my arms into different positions and blasting the shadows away. I expelled energy to block the one that got to close. I twirled, throwing one pistol into the air, firing left and right. I got it with my hand and tucked the arm behind my back, shooting behind me.

I heard the smoke cackling as I grew more tired.

"Time to end this!" I yelled.

 _"You cannot simply put out smoke, boy. It will keep rising, no matter how hard you try to clear it."_

 _"_ Then i'll put it out." I growled, putting my pistols away. The spires spread out, and a few made a halo on my back, hovering just a few inches behind me.

" _You? A pathetic human?"_ I jumped behind him and kicked him in the back of the head.

"That's right." I said, taking a stance. Smoke shot towards me, and the halo of spires spun like a fan, blowing the smoke away. I put my hand to the center of it, bent backwards and flung it. Spires joined it, and only three or four remained.

The figure dodged it, but by the time it regained it's footing I was already on top of it. I was about to land a finishing blow when I got knocked to the side by other ashes. A giant hand formed and grabbed me, flinging me towards the tree. I hit it hard, smacking my shoulder into the trunk and hearing the bone crack. I landed next to Sue, who was hiding behind the trunk.

"Papa!"

"Sue, leave, now!" I groaned, trying to stand back up. the enlarged hand smacked back into me, , crushing my bones. I screamed in pain, my vision turning red. My spine had twisted, and my left arm went limp.

"Get out of here." I mumbled as I crouched and spit blood out of my mouth. I stood up, trying to balance myself on my legs, my left arm completely limp. I looked to see Sue gone, running to Stein.

"Come on!" I yelled, energy swirling around me. My hair rose, turning spiky and changing green. "Level two." I panted.

We met again, me getting close enough to finishing him, and then something wrong would happen.

" _try all as you might, you cannot win."_ It chuckled cruelly. "Level three!" I cried, my energy and hair turning red. I growled like a beast. Yet I lost again and again. Eventually I was barely standing, too tired to move.

" _Hmmm, I am disappointed. You are not the warrior I had thought you had become. And your memories have not yet been repaired. We will meet another time."_ It disappeared, all the smoke clearing away. All the energy in me left, and I passed out.

I opened my eyes slowly, trying to make it as painless as possible. It felt like I was in my bed, but it was too bright for me to be in the _Graegor_. I sat up, groaning, rubbing my head. The memories came flooding back to me, but I felt nothing but a feeling of questioning. What had it meant when it mentioned my memories?

"You up?" I turned to see Stein sitting in a chair.

"What happened? Is the school okay?"

"The school's fine. Just spooked."

"And sue?" He pointed to a lump on the bed next to me. I moved the sheets to see Sue sleeping, wrapping her arms around my waist. She had her mouth slightly open, breathing gently.

"She was worried. She even held onto this for you." He held up the flute she had given me. Then I remembered the promise she had made.

"How long was I out?" I asked in alarm.

"Two days." I groaned, covering my face in my hands. _I let her down,_ I thought.

 _You are not to blame._ I knew this of course but felt guilty all the same. _I'll make it up to her._

My arms and shoulders were broken, yet thankfully my spine was still intact.

"Check this out." I told Stein as my arms made a screeching sound, and then the pain was gone. I moved my arms about, and they felt almost as better as before.

"The Reclaimer's gift." Stein muttered. "Lucky."

I got out of bed, stretching. My spine was sore, but that was okay.

"I'll take Sue home."

"I'll clear everything up with the doctor."

I went into the _Graegor_ , and walked outside with Sue still asleep on my back. I laid her down on the tree and sat with my back to her. I grabbed the flute and played it.

It was a song from a story I had read as a child. A story with heroes and dragons and monsters and magic. It was my only joy, and then I had found Sue.

I went monotone, like I usually felt when I meditated. Except this time my energy flowed with my emotions, not my will. It sounded as if the aura was pouring into the music, giving it a strange feeling. Then the strangest thing occurred: the energy sounded like bass.

I amplified it, and the ground resonated with it. _Your welcome._ I heard the beast say.

 _Thanks._

 _I am but a berserker's servant._ It said. The title surprised me.

I opened my eyes and turned as the song ended to see Sue staring at me with wide eyes.

"Happy birthday." I said. She ran to me and hugged me.

"Does it hurt?" She asked. I said no, and motioned for a golem to present the gift. It had it on the square of it's head, and Sue gasped as she picked it up and unwrapped it. Tears formed as she saw the butterfly necklace. I put it on her and wiped a tear from her eyes.

"Thanks you, Papa." She said, smiling at me. I nodded, and played the flute to her heart's content.

 ***New surprise for next chapter. More characters, older ones, and big surprises**

end of chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4

**I panted as the opponent in front of me closed in. I jumped up, kicking it with all my might. My foot landed on the side of it's face, but it did nothing. I pushed off his shoulders, flipping back a few feet.**

 **"End." I said and the golem shut down. It was enormous, human shaped and made of titanium. There was a red core, with lines running through it's limbs. It even had a human like face, which made it better to train with**

 **It shut down at my command and stood stock still, no more than a statue now. I walked out of the gym and into the library. Sue was chasing golems around, so I let her be. I summoned an obsidian blockling.**

 **"Graymire labs." I told it and it led me to an outdated book. I sat in the table and opened it. I began to read.**

 ** _Graymire labs was an unknown location, having been destroyed before it could have been found. Their research was bent around children with gifts, seeing how far they could go with their trials. They tried to remove abilities, add onto them, and were charged for inhumane experiments. Their associates could not be pressed with charges, and officers fear they have kept up on their studies. Their crest of a snake strangling it's prey is well known, and sightings of this have been seen throughout the southern Ruin, and the other Ruins now fear they are working together._**

 **I sighed, rubbing my eyes. As I thought, this had provided no information. The only thing I can do now is investigate personally..**

 **"Papa look!" I felt Sue pull on my sleeves, and I followed her. The golems followed too. She walked outside into the garden, where the moon barely shown. I looked up, but there weren't any clouds. I looked directly where the moon should have been, but yet there was nothing. Then I heard it.**

 **A metallic** ** _whoosh._**

 **I instinctively grabbed Sue and jumped backwards, landing into the doorway. Just in time, as something large and heavy crashed into the center of the garden. The impact caused me to lose balance and I fell backwards, holding Sue so she didn't get hurt. Immediately I felt my aura shift.**

 **"** ** _ON!"_** **I yelled both inside my head and out loud. As the dust cleared, I looked in horror as to what lay there.**

 **A golem, but not an ordinary one. It was a dragon, made of a metal looking substance with a violet glow in it's chest, spreading through its limbs and into it's head. It was menacing, and it looked straight at me.**

 **It roared, and instead of flame, it was a beam that shot out.**

 ** _Aura?! How does this thing have aura?!_** **I jumped away just in time**

 ** _It's creator must have lent it some._** **Said the presence.**

 **I saw an obsidian golem fall to the ground, unable to get back up. I ran to it and touched the back of it's body. It glowed and changed form, turning into a long sword. I set Sue down as I picked it up.**

 **"Get to cover." I said as I turned an iron golem into a shield. I stabbed it in the ground to provide cover for Sue, and ran off.**

 **"I ran under it, weaving in between it's legs. I stabbed the sword into a kink in it's armor, but nothing happened to it.**

 ** _A golem can only be destroyed two ways. Either destroy its material form or the aura core._** **I switched into my fighting gear, my elongate black coat, this time with sleeves.**

 **"Ya don't say!"I yelled as It tried to crush me under it's foot. I held the longsword in one hand and charged energy in the other. This time blue electricity swirled around my arm, and I sped up to the point it could not keep up.**

 **I reared up behind it and was about to strike when it hit me. Literally.**

 **I forgot it had a tail, and I put up an aura shield just in time. It hardly did anything, seeing as how I was slammed into the ground.**

 **"Ow." I muttered.**

 ** _Slam._**

 ** _"Ow."_**

 ** _Slam_**

 **"Ow!" I jumped up away before the last slam. I stood up just as the tail came down again. I closed my eyes before the impact. I heard it but I didn't feel it. I opened my eyes to see the training golem blocking the tail above it's head. It then grabbed the tail and pulled it towards me. It was giving me an opening.**

 **The dragon struggled against my golem, and I charged up my left hand once more. I converted into light, shooting out to the front of the dragon. I converted back, landing on the wall. I jumped with all my might, shoving my charged hand into it's core. It shuddered, the metal creaking as the metal beast collapsed. I sat back, panting from the scare it gave me.**

 **"It's okay Sue, come out." She popped her head out from the shield and ran up to me. She hid behind me and stared at the enormous metallic face.**

 **"Meanie!" She yelled, throwing a rock at it. The rock hit it's nose with a loud** ** _clang_** **. The noise spooked her and she fell backwards, sitting on the ground with an "Oof!"**

 **The golem walked up to me and gave me it's hand. I stood back up and looked at the empty shell of armor. Was it my imagination, or did I see a spark?**

 **I shrugged it off and headed back into the library. I was about to enter when the ground started to vibrate. I turned while pushing Sue close behind me. I grabbed the sword tighter. The dragon had risen again.**

 **This time it stood with it's tail curled and wings furled.**

 **"** ** _Child of Woe."_**

 **I stiffened at this name.**

 ** _"You who holds the power of the Heavens, listen well."_** **It was a voice recordings, of sorts.**

 ** _"This guardian will be your escort. If you choose to fight, perish. Yet if you choose to obey our pleas, it will be your steed."_**

 **I listened to this quietly. This was an opponent I could not beat in my current state.**

 **"If I choose to go, then I must bring my daughter with me." I said. The dragon bowed it's head, agreeing. I turned to the training golem.**

 **"Deactivate all golems. Store only obsidian, diamond and emerald, and activate the spires, have them ready for my command." It obeyed, and I knelt to look Sue in the eyes.**

 **"Little one, we have to go on a trip. Wanna come?" She nodded eagerly. "Then go pack a few things. I don't think the** ** _Graegor_** **will appear where we will go."**

 **"Okie."**

 **I packed a few things myself. Food, an extra blanket, and got Sue's little backpack. The golem was waiting next to the dragon. We boarded, and the dragon bended it's incredible legs. I sat crossed legged with Sue sitting on my lap. she held onto the backpack, watching our take off. In one leap we were in the air.**

 **We rose above the clouds and it leveled out. I thought it would have been cold, but the heat exerted from the core warmed us comfortably.**

 **"You tired?" I bent over to look Sue in the eyes. She was visibly dozing off.**

 **"No.." She lied, rubbing her eyes. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her.**

 **"Go ahead, sleep. I'll make sure nothing bad will happen." I murmured. Eventually she fell asleep, leaning against me. I stayed awake, wondering who could have built such an advanced machine. I felt her twitch, and I looked down. She had a fearful look on her face. I hugged her tighter as she shuffled closer. I put my hand on her cheek and she smiled.**

 **"Sweet dreams." I said. The dragon flew on, and the golem knelt behind me. We had crossed much distance, and I thought I could have seen water below me.**

 **The sun was just starting to rise as we reached our destination. Bare mountains surrounded us, but up ahead was a magnificent sight. Lush green forests, a nice chilly breeze giving sound to the leaves. We landed on the top of a ridge overlooking the landscape. There was an enormous cavern, with a dragon statue standing on the left. I was confused until the golem went to the right and froze, the metal dragon becoming a statue."Sue, stay behind me." I said as she woke up and I set her down. She did, and I ordered the golem to protect her.**

 **Then I heard it. What sounded like a sigh coming from the entrance to the cavern. I looked, pulling out my obsidian sword. I saw something shift in the darkness, and felt the atmosphere shift.**

 ** _Boy, heed me. Let me fight._**

 ** _Why?_**

 ** _You have no idea what is ahead._** **He said as I saw something emerge from the shadows.**

 ** _Surprise me._** **I said as the form stepped out. It was a girl, with long bright red hair and amber eyes.**

 **"Sarah?!" I exclaimed as she looked at me.**

 **"Gear." She said, as if she didn't know me. She stepped aside, and another woman appeared.**

 **"Welcome, boy." I straightened as I recognized her voice.**

 **"You're the one who sent the dragon after me?"**

 **"Yes, I sent a golem to retrieve you. We need your help." She was tall, blonde, and elegant in every aspect. She was very mature in her manner of speaking as well as her body. Her bright green eyes resembled mine, but hers were mesmerizing.**

 **"What with?" I said, not lowering my sword. "And why is she here?" I motioned to Sarah with the blade.**

 **"You have no need to fear, we do not wish harm."**

 **"You ordered a dragon after me. That was pretty harmful in a number of places in my body."**

 **She laughed, but Sarah glared at me harshly.**

 **"Watch your tongue." She snapped. "This is the monarch you are speaking to."**

 **"And those eavesdroppers up there are pretty offended too." I threw my blade as hard as I could, stabbing into a rock higher up, and behind the ledge appeared another shape. Ash. It swirled into a raven and flew away, heading right above me.**

 **"Nope." I said, launching a blast of aura towards it. It missed.**

 **It flew away.**

 **"Where did that thing come from?" Sarah asked.**

 **"The ledge. Now, tell me why i'm here." The woman nodded. She motioned with her hand and Sarah handed me a box. I opened it, looking at Sarah questioningly. In there were was an old watch, the kind that hung from chains. The insignia was a lion. I picked it up, and it felt slightly familiar.**

 **"Do you know this artifact?"**

 **"Should I?"**

 **"It was your ancestors." I looked at the woman.**

 **"I have none." Sarah scoffed.**

 **"His name was Edward. You should know him.**

 **"Why are you giving me this?"**

 **"Guess." I stared at the watch, and thought of something. I channeled my energy into it.**

 **All of a sudden, the watch disappeared, and the blue light surrounded me. It shattered, and when I looked at the reflection of the metal dragon, I saw I was wearing armor. It was more like a suit, with gauntlets and boots and a helmet, the rest was a skintight costume.**

 **"Whoa." I said, looking myself up and down. It wasn't just my appearance, but my senses were heightened. I jumped, reaching thirty meters into the air, far greater than my normal jump. I landed, causing a dent in the ground.**

 **"Show off." Sarah said, rolling her eyes.**

 **"He is quite marvelous." The woman said.**

 **"This is amazing!" I said.**

 **"But this is not the reason we brought you here. We are in danger of extinction, our race. Come." She said, and I followed. I held my hand out and the armor disappeared, flowing back into the pocket watch.**

 **"Sue, come on." Her and the golem followed.**

 **Inside, I realized it wasn't just a cavern. It went into little passageways, and then widened out into the forest. The mountains surrounded it like a wall. The forests were lush, and in the center stood an enormous temple. But that was not the most amazing.**

 **Dragons flew all over, all shapes and sizes. At the center sat four of the biggest. Green, Purple, Black, and White.**

 **I looked around in amazement and wonder.**

 **"Welcome, Kane, to the kingdom of dragons." As she said it, I noticed other animals as well. Bears, owls, deer, wolves, and even different kinds of big cats. A polar bear lumbered past, stopping to tilt it's head as a bow to the two girls. They nodded back, and then walked up to the other dragons.**

 ** _Welcome, sisters_** **One said. It announced it through my mind, the same way the presence spoke to me.** ** _Who is this child you bring?_**

 **"This is Kane Gear, the acquaintance of Sarah. He is the hero she has spoken of."**

 **"Whoa, wait, what?"**

 **'We require your assistance, Kane. The ashes are falling, spreading like a disease. We, the guardians of this world, are falling in number as they grow."**

 ** _We do not need a human. He should not be here._** **I heard. It seemed to have come from the purple dragon.**

 ** _Silence, Violet._** **Said the green.** ** _I trust our sister's judgement._**

 ** _You have no right to speak._** **Said the black one. They all sounded feminine.**

 ** _Let them be, Shade._** **Said the white one. Eventually they all argued, trying to gain the higher voice. I noticed that the other animals had grown tense.**

 **"Hey, come on-"**

 ** _Silence, human!_** **Yelled violet. I tried to get word in, but they wouldn't listen. I saw Sarah and the other woman holding their faces in their hands. I sighed.**

 **"ENOUGH!" I yelled, growing to level four instantly and activating my armor. My now golden hair rose up and the gold aura surrounding me. I even activated the spires, creating wings and a large halo behind them. My transformation caused a huge blast of whirlwinds, the four dragons holding up their wings to block their faces. Little did I know, the presence also made a show.**

 **What was left of the blue aura grew into my shadow, and even left the ground, taking the shape of a dragon. But this one was different. It had wings and horns, but the torso and arms of a human. It crossed it's arms, growling, then threw them to the side, throwing it's head up and roaring.**

 **Everything grew silent, all eyes on me and the dragon coming from behind me.**

 ** _"Draig."_** **I heard, both out loud from the two girls and inside my head. They were all horrified.**

 ** _Yes, it is I._** **He said.**

 ** _But you had fallen years ago, I saw you._** **Hissed Violet.**

 ** _Aye, I have died. But before I could fully Ascend I found shelter in this boy. We are one, I lie in him just as he lies in me._** **He said, his voice nearly causing the earth to shake. I stood there, my head down but my eyes glaring at the monarch of dragons.**

 **"Why have you brought me here?" I asked, raising my voice.**

 **"We have already said, the Ashes are growing, and we are decreasing. We need the help of an Archangel, and the only one in this world is you"**

 **"I understand." I said, letting all my power go. Draig staid.**

 ** _And answer me this: If we help you, what could you do to return the favor?_**

 **"Well, Kane is a big pervert, so the answer's obvious." sarah said.**

 **"Pervert?" I said.**

 **"Your 'daughter'." At that, I snapped. In no time I was in front of her, an orb of aura in my hand. My vision went blue, indicating my eyes had changed.**

 **"Leave my daughter out of this." I growled. The other dragons tensed, and the woman looked at me. Draig crossed his arms, looking pleased.**

 **"I'll help you, on one condition: promise me my daughter will be safe."**

 **"Papa..." Sue said, looking at me with worry. I sighed and walked up to her.**

 **"Sorry." I said, kneeling to look her in the eyes.**

 ** _This boy is different from the rest..._**

 ** _He will surprise you._** **Said Draig with a toothy grin.**

 **I stood up."Fine, I'll take care of the Ashes. I look forward to your aid." I said, grinning and looking up at the dragons. When I turned around to see Sarah and the woman, there stood two dragons in their place, red and gold.**

 ** _We as well._** **Said the gold, rearing up and roaring, golden aura swirling around her. Aura swirled around the others, each matching the color of their scales. They all roared to the sky, fire erupting from their mouths.**

 **"Lets join in." I said, as Draig roared as well, spreading his wings out wide. Blue light erupted around me, shooting from the sky.**

 ** _Let's finish this._**

 **End of chapter 4**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Hey guys, I just want to say that starting tomorrow I will be posting the second version of this! It is shorter because I write myself into a corner with it. When I post the third version, I will keep writing the one that is the most popular, as well as the others if they get a good amount of popularity. Thanks guys** **!**_

* * *

"Ha!" I yelled, shooting off a round of aura. The golem blocked it easily, grabbing my arm and flinging me up into the air. Boosters at the back of my calves activated, and I flipped upside down in mid-air. My wings and halo deployed, and a booster on my back sent me rocketing downwards. Aura surrounded my hand, and it formed into a blue energy blade protruding from my arm. As I grew close the gauntlet on my left hand turned into a gun. I fired to distract, but sadly, golems can't get distracted.

I tried to slash, but he caught my hand and twisted it.

"Alright alright, uncle!" I said as it twisted my arm further and further behind my back. He let go, and I jumped back.

"That's it for today, I guess." I said, throwing my arm to the side as the armor flowed back into the watch. I walked on the water all the way back to shore. All this was ordered by the dragon monarchs, saying I should get better control of my aura. I believed it flowed through emotions, which also affected it. If I were mad I couldn't control it, but when I was calm or happy It bent to my will like a leaf.

"Papa." Sue said, peeking out from a tree. Only her eyes and forehead shown.

"What is it?" I said, smiling at her.

"I found a bear." She held up a polar bear cub. It looked up at me with big brown eyes.

"Where did you find it?"

"Alone. We need to find the mama!" She said, hopping up and down Just then I heard a roar to my left.

"Looks like she found us." I said, picking up Sue and the cub, running. The bear was hot on my trail, it's rage reflecting in it's eyes.

"Sue, put the cub down!"

"Okie." She let go of it and it rolled to a stop, barking happily. The mother stopped to sniff it, then picked it up and left.

"Jeez, Sue, the most dangerous thing here is to get in between a parent and child. Don't forget that." She nodded happily. I took her back to the center of the forest to take her to our temporary abode. Then I walked back to the monarch's pedestals. They were all dragons now, flying in the air and flexing their wings, getting ready for what seemed like a vicious battle.

 _Kane._ Said Gold, landing hard in front of me. They all had curved horns and enlarged wings, with four legs and an elongated tail. Yet one was slicker than the other, one with more muscles, scales or ridges.

"Is this your training?" I asked, watching as the other five twirled and entwined, performing remarkable tricks.

 _Our strength is unmatched, our minds sharp, and our will strong. Our weaknesses must be protected, thus we maneuver, in the case of it being exposed._ She said, looking at me with sparkling eyes. Her head was the size of half my body, her wings as wide as the sides of a big rig.

"What if the ashes suffocate you?" I said, thinking of ways to take them down if I were the enemy.

 _Dragons are not as weak as some thing. We have four lungs and two hearts, in order to keep up with our limbs and so we do not tire in flight._

"Fancy. You guys were built for this weren't you? Beautiful like angels savage like demons."

 _We are neither Angelic or demonic, simply a neutral species under our Creator._

I nodded, and Gold putt up her wings. After a bright glow, she reverted back to human. As did the other dragons. They all had very mature bodies, some more than others. Their eye and hair color matched the color of their scales. Except for shade, who had yellow eyes.

 _Boy, a word._ I heard Draig say.

 _What is it?_

 _A setback for having a dragon inside you. I was the only male in the monarchy._

 _What does that me-oh._ I paled a little. "Well, I have to, uh, go prepare for-gah!" I screamed as I felt something pierce my back. The monarchs gasped as I turned to see ashes in the form of a dragon.

" _You."_ I growled, hearing Draig's voice inside mine. The dragon dissipated and the ashes swirled backward, forming into something.

"What's up, Kane?" I heard as the ashes took a form. A boy appeared, slightly taller than me, with tan skin and the same color hair as mine.

"What?" I said, taking a step back.

"Oh, don't remember me? That's harsh. Forgetting your own brother." That last word hit me square in the face. I put my head down, my hair covering my eyes.

"Papa?" I heard Sue from behind him. He turned around and saw her, smiling evilly.

'Well hello, girly." He said, as ashes separated from him and moved slowly towards Sue. She whimpered, the ashes slowly getting closer.

"Rah!" I yelled, appearing in armor in front of Sue and blocking the ashes from her.

" _You dare lay a finger on her?"_ I said, feeling my helmet change. A visor came down, two narrow slits for eyes and it coming down into a point over my mouth.

"Struck a nerve?" He said, grinning wickedly. "What, your gonna fight your older brother?"

" _Do not-"_ I appeared in front of him, punching him in the gut, a booster in my elbow activating for more of a hit. _"Call me your brother."_

He stepped back, spitting out blood. I grabbed him by the neck with my left hand, lifting him up as a sword appeared on my right.

"Papa." The name brought some sense into me, and I looked back at Sue. The armor deactivated, and I let him go.

"It that it?" He sneered, as ashes appeared under me and smacked me into the air. I took the hit, flying high.

"Kane!" I heard a few monarchs yell as two swirls of ashes were about to smash me. That is, until something completely covered me, and I heard the sound of sand running through feathers, and I looked up to see wings covering me. When I flexed my shoulders, they moved away, and saw that the wings were mine.

Sue looked up at me in surprise. I flapped them to keep myself in the air. Then I got an idea.

I stilled my wings, and I fell, somersaulting faster and faster. As I got closer I stretched my foot out, and kicked his head downwards, hard enough to crack the ground.

"Get out of my sight." I said, stomping the ground so he bounced in the air, then I spun kick him into the nearest wall. He fell hard, getting up slowly.

"Heh, still as feisty as you always were. Well, you know where to find me." He turned into ash and disappeared. I tucked my wings as small as they could, fitting smugly on my back.

"Kane..." I heard Sarah say, almost worriedly.

"I know where he went. Get everything you need ready. We're leaving at sunset." I said, walking away. I made my way back down to the lake, sitting down on a rock near the shore, taking my shirt off and spreading my wings, looking at them in the reflection. They were enormous and Snow White, and especially sore from being still for many years. They were big enough to completely envelope me and the rock I was sitting on.

 _Archangel._ I thought. _The irony._

I stood up and stretched them to full length, about four meters long each. I jumped, gaining altitude as the wings carried me. I dropped back down, this time leaping over the water, keeping them spread out so I glided over the clear and beautiful lake, leaning so the tip of my wing brushed the surface. With a heave, I skyrocketed, pumping my wings faster and faster.

I was panting by the time I passed the clouds, stopping and looking over everything. Then I exhaled, tucking my wings in and nose diving. I fell towards the ground at an alarming rate, but I felt no fear. I spread my wings only slightly, just enough to pull up and shoot straight towards the Temple, where the six monarchs were preparing their trip. I opened them a little wider to slow my decent, hitting the ground and skidding to a stop.

I let go of the breath I was holding, folding back the wings into my back.

"Is everyone ready?" I asked, looking around at them.

"We'll follow you from the skies." I nodded, and they transformed and left, circling above waiting for me. I walked to Sue and together we went to where the shadows were darkest. We entered the _Graegor_.

Just as I stepped foot inside my cell phone rang. I answered it.

"Kane! Where the hell have you been?" Stein demanded.

"Calm down, I can't explain. Dragons, old brother, I got smacked by a bush the other day."

"What?"

"I'm heading back to Graymire labs." That shut him up.

"Do you need back up?" he said, his tone cold as ice.

"I have seven dragons with me. And a couple new tricks up my sleeve. I'll be fine. And i'll leave Sue in the _Graegor_ , so shes far from harm."

"Okay. I'd wish you luck, but I don't want to jinx it." He said. I rolled my eyes and knocked on wood.

He hung up and I entered our home, Sue running in from behind. The blocklings all flocked to her, happy that she was back.

"I'll be gone for a while, Sue. I'm going to visit some old friends of mine. Are you gonna be okay here?"

"Uh-huh." She said, hugging a confused looking blockling.

"Okay, then, i'll be off. Be safe." I was about to exit when I felt her grab the sleeve of my shirt. I turned and looked at her.

"Promise me you'll be fine." She said, holding up her little finger. I smiled and grabbed it with my own.

"Promise." I said, and we hugged.

"Goodbye Daddy." She said as I left, trying not to look back, as painful as it was.

 _Are you ready?_ Said gold as she landed next to me. I nodded, activating the armor. I nodded as I spread my wings to their full length. The armor spread to the wings, giving the frail bones some protection. The girls turned into dragons, and we set off, taking to the air in a V formation.

We flew north, flying as close to the clouds as possible. They maintained a good enough distance, their wings too enormous to risk being close to each other.

"Tell me about your race." I yelled through the wind to Sarah at my right and Gold at my left.

 _It is a simple monarchy. We need not political power, for monarchs are born from queens. The only exception was your partner, Draig._

 _Do not speak about me as if I am dead._ I heard Draig say. I _n fact, this one is unfamiliar to me._ He was talking about Sarah.

 _It's singe to you._ he said, eyeing me with her ruby red eyes. _Duck._

"Huh? Wah!" I yelled as a duck hit my face, sending me back.

Some of the dragons made noise similar to laughter.

 _Must we travel this slow?_ I heard Jade say, annoyed that we were lagging behind.

"Don't worry about me, go on ahead and i'll keep up." Then, with a whirlwind of flaps, they rocketed away, leaving me behind easily.

"Wow." I said, then grinned, flapping harder and using the boosters to keep up.

 _Draig, a little help._

 _Boost!_ I heard as I accelerated out of control, catching up to the dragons and decreasing my speed slightly.

 _Are we there yet?_ Said Shade, flying directly above me.

"A little ways to the West. The Ilestine mountains," I said, pointing to the distance. The name Ilestine seemed familiar to me somehow, beyond the point of living there. The name itself seemed overly familiar to me, as if I knew someone with that name...

I snapped out of my thoughts as I felt something hit me, sending me flying in over Jade and Violet.

I looked around, but nothing was there. _Draig, you see anything?_

 _Above you!_ I looked up just before a blur knocked me into Sarah, or Singe.

 _Watch it, Gear._ She growled.

"Everyone dive, now!" I yelled as I jumped off and shot upwards, pulling out my obsidian sword in my right and my left turning into an aura sword.

The thing came from above the clouds, that I was sure of. I pumped my wings and used the boosters on my leg to climb faster.

 _Move, hatchling._ I heard Violet say as she passed me. Pride was her strength and weakness, I suppose.

"No, don't!" I yelled as she got smacked across the snout. Another hit in the side and she was falling.

"Gold!"

 _Yes._ She stretched her arms and caught Violet, stopping her wings and descending.

"Leave this to me." I said as I passed the clouds, and instantly regretted even opening my eyes.

There stood a gruesome sight, what looked like an enormous serpent, quills protruding from it's neck down it's back. it's head was a needle, it's eyes were red slits and it hissed at me. It's tail split into three pieces, those pieces swirling around.

"Oh of course, I hoped it was a giant evil puppy or maybe a turtle but a serpent's JUST FINE!" I yelled. The serpent screeched and and dived towards me.

"Nope."I said, the archangel awakening and the spires now a halo and second pair of wings.A dome of aura surrounded me as the beast crashed headfirst into it. I slashed my sword, but it only caused a scrape. It's quills extended into wires, long silver threads.

"Whoa!" I said, pulling up so as not to get hit by the thread. The sword was replaced by my hand again.

"Draig, help me out!" I said.

 _An ethereal serpent. It's impenetrable quills protect it's weakest spots, while they also work as it's weapons. A tough opponent for a human. Will you agree to my plan?_ I saw what he had in mind.

"Not yet. That's for later." I said as my obsidian sword turned into a katana, long and curved. I bent me knees, turning the boosters to full power. Then I blasted off, swinging my katana at it's waist. I felt it cut, but it didn't reach through. To the beast it would have looked like a normal paper cut.

"You mad?" I yelled at it's face. It snorted, smacking two tails in the opposite direction, then the third knocked me away.

I felt something softly catch me, and I looked up to see Gold. Her eyes were full of worry. Shade flew up to us, as well as Jade and Iris, the white one.

 _Do you need assistance?_ Said Jade.

"Where's Singe and violet?"

 _Singe is helping Violet recover. Do not worry for them._ I jumped off Gold's hands, using my boosters to fix my course. I twirled my katana, thinking of something. I looked to the four monarchs, thinking. Then it hit me.

"Gold, Jade, hang back. Shade, I need you to hide under the clouds. Come out only when I need you. Iris-" I said, turning and pointing to the white. It lifted it's head in surprise. "-throw me."

She tilted her head at me as her long whip-like tail wrapped around me. I folded my wings and held one arm out, to hold onto my katana.

"Now!" I yelled as she whipped me towards the serpent. I rocketed faster than humanly possible.

 _Where are they?_ I heard Singe say. I screamed as I passed behind her, a slow dot in the distance. I set my katana right next to my face. If I didn't time this right, then I could kiss the thought of seeing Sue goodbye.

The thought alone gave me the motivation, and I perfected my position, boosting faster and pumping my wings. The serpent shot towards me, and we were on collision course. My spires flew onto the katana, flattening onto the sides and making it look longer, and the ones that made a halo stuck to my back, but when i concentrated my aura the halo moved to under my feet, then, like a rocket booster, launched me beyond the point of surviving impact.

I roared, and slashed my katana in a cross slash. I closed my eyes, hearing a tearing noise. I felt pressure on the blade, but then it disappeared.

I opened my eyes and turned around. I saw the serpent, or what was left of it, falling down through the sky.

 _H-how did you do that?_ said Singe, as all the dragons flew up to me. _You broke the barrier of sound._

"Yeah. I guess it-guh!" I felt pain flare through my entire body, my wings spasming and my armor deactivating. They reached out to me, me falling into Iris' arms. I looked in her eyes and saw my own reflection.

My eyes were glowing blue, lightning patterns of blue lines coursed out of my eyes onto the side of my head.

 _The archangel's radiation. He cannot contain it._ Draig said,sounding alarmed.

 _What do we do?_ Said gold.

 _Form a contract with him. All seven of us might be able to contain it._

 _He will not be able to accept us,not without the armor from his ancestor._

I stood up, blinking my eyes to focus them. Everything was double vision. I reactivated the armor, this time my right arm was bare. The other dragons saw what I was doing, and conceded. Glowing emblems appeared on their chests, and light flowed from that emblem onto my hand. From my elbow started black, then white, then violet, gold, red, green, and finally, in the center of my palm, blue. I roared as I entered deeper into each of their thoughts, and felt something shift in my armor. The shoulder pads had blades protruding from them, so did the bottom of my gauntlets near the elbows and in the front of my knees. My helmet was still round in the front, but grew angular towards the top back. The armor on my chest appeared the same, except for a hexagon symbol glowing in the center. Even my wings changed, growing exponentially and turning into leather as the feathers fell off. The streaks shooting out of my eyes receded, turning into tow curves lines, almost like fangs, on the top and bottom of my eyes. The pain decreased quickly, and new strength flowed through me.

I sighed, folding my wings. When folded, they reached three feet above my head. The spires even changed, turning into claws and glowing with a dark blue power. I deactivated the Archangel, relaxing my strained muscles at the pain.

"Thank you." I said quietly, looking up gratefully at the six. They were all baring their teeth, except for Gold, who seemed to be smiling.

 _We are now yours, little one._ She said as we descended onto a mountain.

 _What do you mean?_

 _They are your servants now. You are their master._ Said, Draig, sounding monotone.

"You..." I looked at all of them, then at the emblems on my arm. They had formed contracts for me, to save me.

"Why?" I asked.

"To protect you. One human alone is not enough to contain an Angel, even if he had fused with a dragon." Said Jade, turning human. She wore a white dress, her arms and short hair green. Her eyes were the color of an emerald. she looked at me with no emotion.

"Do not disappoint us, human. Our contract can only go so far." I straightened up and nodded.

"Shall we keep going? I said as I spread my new wings. The spires formed a new halo,, this time made of little loops of fangs. I knelt down, then launched to the air, the dragons trailing behind me. _Now to head for Graymire lab,_ I thought as memories flooded in my head of my old home.

End of chapter 5


	6. Chapter 6

_**Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been posting much, I've been feeling really tired lately. Probably nothing. Anyway, here is the new chapter!**_

* * *

The mountains were barren, void of any life. A classic Transylvanian horror scene, a building atop a cliff overlooking a Black Sea. The monarchs were getting edgy, and by the time we landed they were completely snappy.

"Now, here's the plan. I need you six to stay on guard. Circle the lab, but stay stealthy. If anything happens, relay the info to Draig. Do not contact me whatever happens."

 _What of your so called brother?_ questioned Shade.

"He's mine to deal with." I said calmly.

 _And how are you to do that?_

 _"_ As of now, he's way stronger than me. So i'm just going to go for it the first chance I see. Pray I don't bring the whole place down." I said as I walked away, my visor going down.

 _A word._ Said Draig.

 _Yeah?_

 _The armor was made from adaptive material, it changes to fit your emotions, your aura level, even your thoughts. but if you loose your anger, I cannot guarantee your safety in this armor. Many have died in your position, but thrice others died because of it._

 _Understood._ I shuddered. It was true, I can feel something in the armor. Like a growing presence, beyond comprehension.

I walked up the stairs and opened the door slowly. Dust laid everywhere, covering what looked like an enormous hospital. But it wasn't.

 _It's an asylum._ I thought with dread. Old medical equipment lay everywhere as I traveled upwards. The rooms were like prison cells, bars over the windows. There were enormous tubes, corpses floating inside, still preserved. I recognized some of them,memories that should not have risen. These were the orphans I grew up with.

 _Calm your mind, they have already passed. The monarchs see few traces of ashes, but something is moving here._

 _Reassuring. Why would they need dead bodies?_ I asked, giving him an obvious question.

 _I hope my answer is false._

 _They're trying to bring them back._ I said grimly, walking further upwards. I made it to the roof, now a large flat open area. Sections of the wall still stood, but due to the storm, it wouldn't hold for long.

 _Little one._ I heard Gold as I looked up and saw a flash of yellow in the storm clouds. The six of them were circling above, watching a figure in the center of the roof.

"Surprise I'd find you here, traitor." I heard as the shadows, which were actually ashes, moved away, revealing the last person I wanted to see.

"Vade." I said, looking at my older brother.

"Kane. May I ask what you're doing here?"

"You have the nerve to come into my turf?" I said, launching towards him and giving him a back hand across the face. He flinched, but his face didn't change. "And now I'm the bad guy?"

"That's right. So what are you going to do now?"

"Now?" I said, appearing behind him and throwing another blow. "Now I'm gonna kick your ass"

A wave of aura erupted, and timed seemed to slow down. Moving through the air felt like moving through water, but the armor adapted and I could move as fast as I usually could. I twisted, kicking him in the back, He barely moved, but the force of the kick hit him square on the back. After a while he moved. I jumped in the air in front of him with my right hand I hit Him hard in the face. Another right, then I brought my foot up, bending my knee to my stomach, I kicked him in the chest, twirled behind him, gave him another kick, this time to the back. I let him fall, then stomped down, knocking him back in the air. I kicked, twirled, kicked and twirled. Every hit I made sounded like Bass.

The flow of time sped up, and i watched all the hits connect, air blowing into hits since I wasn't there. He flew in the air and crashed into a wall. He got up slowly, groaning. I walked up to him with my fists clenched.

"Go ahead, laugh." I said, glaring at him. I bent my knee and spun, bringing one foot out which caused him to trip. I straightened up and raised my foot, kicking him in the gut and smashing him further into the wall.

He stood there gasping. The ashes crawled onto him into the areas I had hit him. They seemed to _fuse_ with him, as strange as it sounded.

"Hit me all you want, wimp, but I can't be knocked out. Remember our code names from here?"

"How can I forget." I said, letting him talk.

"Why do you think I was named regen? The ashes are my life source. So your not just wasting time, but effort." He said. Then he attacked.

It was a hurricane of ashes. The rose from the ground as blades, or appeared as hands, trying to grab or smash me. Beasts made of ashes appeared, and they all dog piled me.

"Any last words, wimp?" He said. Then the ash pile started to tremble, light flowing out.

"Archangel Mach 6!" I yelled, my hair turning pure white.

"Halo's strike." I growled, the spires forming into a halo around my elbow, concentrating my aura. My aura formed into more halos, ranging from purple to green to blue, moving down my arm into my hand, where an orb of blue light shown.

"See if you can regenerate after this." I said, my eyes trained on him. In the reflection in the visor, it looked as if my eye had a targeting system, but that wasn't all. My expression was vicious, scaring even me.

"Same to you!" He said, holding his hands in a circle, ashes swirling inside it. I roared as I blasted it, thrusting my arm out in front of me as a blast of my aura shot towards him. he did likewise with the ashes, and our attacks collided.

 _Kane!_ I heard from Gold and Singe. I couldn't look up, but I knew they were going to fly down.

 _Stay away! Don't come any near!_ I ordered them.

"Looking tired, bro!" Vade laughed like a maniac.

"I'm not tired. Not in the least. You threatened my friends, tried to take over my school, and even worse, you threatened my daughter's safety. Now, i'm truly angry!" I screamed as my attack went haywire, and the outburst made Vade's attacks seem harmless.

 _Stop this, boy, now!_ I heard draig say. _Do not leave your rage unchecked, stop this before it's too late!_

 _I can't! The armor, something's wrong._ I said as more aura glowed around me, covering my armor, _changing_ it. I heard Vade curse as he took the blast full force. I stopped, panting. Something was rising up, like the feeling you get in your stomach when you drop on a roller coaster.

 _Boy, control your anger!_

 _Grr._ I was shocked at my own response. I couldn't speak. I only felt anger. My memories became fuzzy, and I looked down at my body to see the armor changing. Claws protruded from my gauntlet, and my shoulder pads turned to claws as well. My helmet expanded backwards, turning into spikes. My visor rose, becoming the face of a beast. I even grew a tail.

I had one last thought, one last part of myself.

 _Sue..._

 _A roar. a vicious roar, resounding through the area and into nearby water. Rage, sorrow, hate. These were the only emotions felt._

 _A left claw, a leap in the air, twisting and kicking. The jaws expanded, then bit down, the tail tripping the prey's legs._

 _Prey. That is all what this thing is. Something to hunt, to kill. If not, then it would kill me. No mercy, no second thoughts. What was I fighting for?_

 _Sue._

 _That thought. Someone I know? Who, or what, is she? No memories, my head. This presence. An enemy? There are monsters circling around the sky. Why are they calling out to me? Why are these things familiar to me?_

 _Sue._

 _It hurts. Why do I keep fighting? I stopped for now, circling the prey. I gave a growl. It's bleeding, but it's not blood. Ash? Not normal. Danger. The shadows are getting longer. It's making sounds. Should I understand it? I can't, even if I tried. This presence is getting frustrating. What is it? How is it trying to speak with me? The prey was surrounded by shadows now. It was growling._

 _Kill..._

 _The voice was getting frantic._

 _Protect Sue. Threat identified._ _It was right. The threat was right in front of me. The killer instinct is coming. Pounce and claw, aim for the jugular. The shadows, no, more prey. Pathetic. Tear them apart._

 _Bite. Scratch. Claw, stomp. I felt and heard satisfying sounds, the sounds of a successful kill. All around. Yes, do it for Sue. They're after Sue. others too. Allies? I know them. They're in danger. The prey will kill them._

 _I'll kill him first._

 _In the air, twisting, hitting, clawing. A roar, the shockwaves sending them back. The power..._

 _It was electric._

 _Savagery. Use my four legs, run faster. Pounce, encircle. At last, the First Prey is in my sight. Yes, below me. Spin, faster. Claws out, teeth bared. Balance, precision. Caught. The neck, completely available. The smell of blood. Use my jaws, just one twitch..._

Snap.

I flew backwards, groaning. What happened.

 _You're back._ I heard Draig. His voice was full of dread.

 _What happened?_ I replied weakly. Then I saw it. The corpse, the blood.

 _Little one..._ I turned to see the dragons have landed, staring at me in horror.

"Who did this?" They stared at me. I grew more worried. I looked down to see the blood on my hands, my armor... It was savage.

"No..."

 _You won._ Said Shade. She was wrong. This wasn't a victory. This was a massacre.

"I-I never meant..." I fell to my knees, my eyes never moving from my hands. "Why, why did I do this?"

 _Hush, little one._ gold laid next to me, her wing around my shoulders. But I wasn't comforted. I was scared

 _Calm yourself boy. This was not your fault._

"I-If I had better control, if I didn't rush in, we could have talked this out. Why?" I deactivated the armor, throwing the watch on the ground.

 _There was nothing you could do. Iris, tend to his wounds._ Said Jade.

"No!" My voice startled them.

"Kane, you need to be treated." Said Singe, now in human form along with Gold , Jade and Shade. Violet had been in human form since she landed.

"Don't come near me. Please." I said, my voice breaking. My wings shot out and I fled, flying upwards them north, going as fast as I could go. To run away, to be alone. That's what I wanted.

I wanted to be alone again. On I flew, feeling tears down my eyes. I avoided Draig, but he understood why. I found a cave in another barren mountain, landing down just as a storm arrived. I walked in, hiding behind a rock, hugging my knees.

 _You run from nothing._

 _Your words mean nothing._ I replied dully. All emotion had passed, and now I felt empty. That _thing_ didn't just come from the armor.

 _It's inside me._ I said, shuddering.

 _In all my years I have never seen a beast so savage, save for one. A human hybrid named Lionel Graegor._

 _That's..._ I didn't need to finish that thought. The creator of the _Graegor_ wasn't human. Go figure.

"Kane." I turned to see Sarah, looking at me with glowing red eyes. "Talk to me."

"There's nothing to talk about." I closed my eyes, trying to shut everyone out. Being alone, you didn't have to explain these things. It was a form of comfort, not having to rely on anyone, and not having anyone rely on you.

"Talk to me about Sue." The request surprised me. I looked up to see her sitting next to me, in the same pose. She looked at me with open eyes, eyes that has an innocent curiosity to it.

"Well, I guess it can't be helped." I took a deep breath, shuddering as I let it go. "Two years ago, when I was alone on the streets. Just a kid in the back of the picture frame. It was great, only having to worry about yourself. At the time, a wealthy couple came into town. I spied on them, hoping to take away a few bucks to myself. Then there she was, crying on the side of the street. She had the same eyes as the guy, and the woman's hair. It was obvious to see it was their daughter. But they didn't care for her. An accident, they called her. That was the first time I ever felt something, felt sympathy, for someone else. Her eyes were the worst. Betrayal, fear beyond human comprehension shown. I knew what was going through her head. Her parents didn't care for her, no one did. A winter day too, and she was in a little blouse. I couldn't help it, I brought her in with me. It took a year for her to trust me, to think of me as a father. Honestly, I don't mind to have someone to take care of. She was the only thing that kept me going, my motivation. Feed her, keep her warm, keep her safe. That was when stein found us, and I found the _Graegor."_

"over the year we've been together, she healed up remarkably. She eventually saw me as her dad. We did look like relatives. I let her join school, but I still worry every day. I just want her to be happy." I had stood up and started pacing the cavern.

"So she's that important to you."

"It's known with animals that the most dangerous thing to do with them is get in between them and their children. If _anyone_ threatens her..." I blasted a crater into the floor, starting a fire. Singe flinched, but otherwise barely reacted.

I stared at her and she gazed into the flames, completely motionless. She looked regal, almost like a queen.

"Are you familiar with the legend of Calypso?" She looked at me, then back to the fire. They way she looked, she looked almost as young as me. I was twelve, yet more mature for my age. Almost 14, which would explain why I skipped to a higher class.

"A Greek myth. The daughter of a Titan, she was trapped in an island, never being able to leave. She healed heroes, always falling in love with them, but they always left." This was his favorite story, seeing as how the characters people thought of heroes weren't, and Calypso was the actual hero.

"Very good, but that's just the first part. Calypso managed to free herself." I looked up at her, raising an eyebrow.

"She didn't escape like you think. She used her magic, splitting into several dragons and flying away from the island. That was how the Monarchs were made, and now, with one of our Embodiments dead, we cannot hope to fuse into our old forms. It requires too much energy for us to doit now, unless someone supported us with energy. But then we would put our race in danger."

I stood silent, contemplating. I heard flapping coming from the outside of the cave, and saw the rest of the monarchs turning into humans.

"Kane, listen." Said Gold. "It wasn't your fault."

"That's not what i'm worried about. I couldn't control myself, I was too pent up on anger, but worse, I killed."

 _Boy, that is a warriors way. You can try to deny it, but you can't. I have killed in my day, and I know what it is like killing for the first time. You'll never be able to avoid it, just accept it._ Said Draig.

"... No."

 _No?_

"You don't have to accept it, the same as you don't have to kill. I'm never going to kill again, that I can promise." I put emphasis on the last word, holding my finger downwards for emphasis.

The monarchs smiled, looking at me with what almost looked like pride.

"Master Kane, I believe you have a daughter to return to." said Gold as they started to turn into dragons. I nodded, smiling. I turned on the armor, activated the arch, and spread my wings. The spires made a halo, and then lined up on my wings, so it looked like the feathers were made of metal. I knelt, holding the boosters down, then took off, breaking through the barrier of sound, with the dragon monarchs close behind me. I used my aura to help speed them up to keep up with me.

I looked forward to returning. There were more and more things I had to do. Maybe Stein needed help teaching the drama club about their gifts. Maybe there were more baddies to take care of. But mostly, I was excited to see Sue most of all.

 _I groaned, trying to get some air into my lungs. The ashes swirled around my throat and wrists. I didn't expect him to go berserk. Maybe that was how he escaped the lab. Either way, i'm excited._

 _I stood up, feeling that dry, sore strength. It was the kinda strength that didn't have any feel to it, no surge of power, just the plain, gray source that helped me get myself back on my feet. The ashes felt like sand on my skin, running through it, healing me, then sinking back into the shadows._

 _"Well little brother, looks like you win round one." I laughed. Those blessed scientists really helped, making the perfect power. Now I can take as many hits as I want. The beautiful ashes were the best. Now, I wasn't going to hold back. Now, it's time to rub some dirt in his eye._

End of chapter 6


	7. Chapter 7

I was walking with Sue to school. She welcomed me back with a little too much happiness. I worried every time I wasn't with her, maybe she did the same.

"Papa's quiet." She stepped in front of me, so close she tilted her head up all the way. She had cut her hair so it barely reached her shoulder. I picked her up and carried her on my shoulders.

"Just thinking, little one." She wrapped her arms around my forehead and tilted until she was looking at me straight in the eyes. She giggled as I wiggled my eyebrows. I chuckled too, but something made me stop. I turned, but saw nothing. I shrugged it off and kept walking.

"Let's play a game."I suggested.

She jumped down and poked my hand, screaming "Your it!" Then running towards the school. I laughed and ran to catch her, slowing down to give her a chance. I ran past a couple of kids in my class. She was small, so she just ducked under them. I jumped over them, but failed at my landing. I rolled straight into a girl, and we collapsed.

"Ow." We said at the same time. I looked up to see Scorch, or rather, Sarah, glaring at me.

"Again?" She sighed as she got up. I stood up to see the five other monarchs here.

"What's up? Why are you guys here?" They all had the school uniforms on. They fitted slimly against their bodies.

"We're going to school." The news was so blunt, at first it passed through me. I looked at the regal Jade, the elegant Gold, the intimidating Shade, and the quiet and shy Iris, and bursted into laughter. I laughed and laughed until my side hurt as they just stared at me.

"H-hold on, what are you going to d-do?" I was crying at this point.

"As your servants, we have to be close to you, all the time. So we enrolled into your class. Stein was easily persuaded." I laughed harder at the thought of Stein having to deal with these six. I was catching my breath, sitting down, when I saw someone.

Vade.

My laughter ceased. I stared at the person, double checking. Sure enough, he turned and sneered at me. I growled, my anger bowling.

"Stay here." I unzipped my jacket so it flung out behind me like a cape. My scrawny figure showed, and I unfurled my wings. I touched the ground with one hand, kneeling. With one flap and a kick off the ground, I rocketed towards him. He was turning the street corner.

I slid to a stop, turning to see him already at the other side of the street, pointing at me.

"Rrrgh." I growled, and could already feel the claws growing out of my nails, and my canines sharpening. I pumped my wings, my body vertical to the ground. My hair was shot backwards. I turned sharply to see him standing at the center of the street. I flew up, then down low, my stomach nearly scraping against the ground. I braked slightly, kicking him in the gut and tilting backwards. I flew upwards, holding him up, then twisting and throwing him back down. I folded my wings and fell down, aiming for a punch. He rolled away at the last second, and I hit bare asphalt.

"You're supposed to be dead." It struck me that he wasn't fighting back.

"Surprise." I folded my wings and turned around, walking away.

"How's Sue doing?" I stopped. "Maybe you should let her visit her uncle."

I threw my hand towards him and shot a beam of aura. He blocked it by putting his arms in an X shape. I could see my eyes glowing, due to the blue light I saw.

"I swear, if you lay a hand on her..."

"Don't worry, i won't. Well, _i'm_ not going to lay a hand on her." My eyes widened in shock. I ran back to where the others were, using my wings to speed me up. I made it back to see the six monarchs, halfway transformed. There were scales on their cheeks, there eyes reptilian. They had claws, wings, and a tail. Some were even breathing fire. There were humanoid forms of ashes, swirling around. I soared above them, charging up the most aura I could, barreling down towards the fight.

"Hit the deck!" I yelled as the monarchs moved out of the way as I sent a shockwave of aura in every direction. I could hear the sound it made, almost like bass. Ashes soared everywhere, but this time, they stayed that way.

"What's your plan in coming here?" I asked Vade, who had landed nearby.

"Just trying to prove a point."

"And that is?" He walked up to me and laid a hand on my shoulder.

"That you can't kill me." I closed my eyes. The phrase was meant for something more than just a threat. It was meant for reassurance. I smiled.

"Your right, thankfully. Although next time, i'll try not to pummel you to near death." I held up my hand and he took it. Then he threw me into the nearest wall.

"Next time, kid, i'm going all out." And he was gone.

"Are you alright Kane?" Asked Jade as the girls recovered from the recent fight. They were back to their human forms.

"Yeah, let's just say the family squabble goes on. Where's Sue?" Just as I finished saying it, a blood curling scream rose. After that, I don't remember how it happened. I only remember a slicing sound, and what happened afterwards. My vision was pure red, and I was gripping Sue by the collar of her shirt. She was knocked out, unconscious as ash swirled around me. Words burned in my head, but they weren't from Draig.

 _You cannot keep me caged._ The beast had risen. I let go of Sue, gently setting her down onto a bench, and watched as my claws shrunk into my normal hands, and the vision returned to normal color.

"Damn." I covered one eye with my hand, and tried to calm down. The monarchs were watching me.

"What did I do...?" I asked as I fell to my knees. Gold walked up to me, kneeling so she could look me in the eyes.

"Don't worry, Sue's fine. You are not." I looked down to see my shirt and coat torn to shreds, and a gaping hole right in the center of my chest. If I bent my head far enough, I could see the wall behind me through my chest.

"Um, why doesn't it-guh!" The pain came swift and deadly. Gold held me up, her hands strong on my shoulders.

"Put the armor on." She demanded. I did, and the cloth avoided the hole in my chest. Then, flesh started regrowing, veins reattaching, the skin covering it up. In no time at all, I was perfectly fine, and a wave of exhaustion crept over me.

"How did you know... that'll work?" I panted.

"I didn't." She stood up and offered her hand. I gratefully took it.

"Can we please go to school now?" Asked Sarah. Everyone agreed, so I carried Sue to the school. She woke up just as I entered the classroom. I went to my own, the girls sitting all around me. I felt trapped.

"Okay everyone, let's get started. Now, who here has actually done the project. Kane?" Said Stein, nodding at me.

"HA, no." I said plainly.

"And these new students?"

"Relatives?" I shrugged, and he got the sign. He went on with the usual classes. I listened along, but I felt uneasy. For me, this was way too calm. I looked out the window, but everything was normal. Maybe it was actually a regular day.

Class went on as usual. He gave us notes and homework, and none of the students cared. The Monarchs were fascinated by it all, and when break came, the questions started flooding.

"So, what is homework?"

"Assignments given by the teacher based on what we learned."

"And projects?"

"Same." I answered the never ending questions, then when Sue came she jumped right into my lap.

"Papa." She said, taking her lunch bag and grabbing a sandwich.

"Little one." I replied. The girls all sat down under the tree with us. We all sat there, looking over the entire academy.

"So how did you all even enter?"

"Fake papers and luck, mostly." Said Jade. She sat closest to me on the left while Gold was closest to my right. It seemed almost natural, like being with family. Then Stein walked up to us.

"Ladies, Kane." He nodded to us, and we returned the gesture. "May I speak to you?" I nodded and stood. He led me away from the girls.

"Your dragon friends aren't as savage as they look."

"So you know. What gave it away?"

"No girls their age have those bodies."

"Pervert."

"Anyway, it's not about them. It's about Sue."

"Did something happen? Is she in trouble?"

"No, but you are." I was confused at his statement. "It's her mother."

Oh dear.

"Look, just get her to the office. You'll see why."

I headed down there with Sue. I clutched her hand tightly, my heart burning.

"Papa?"

"We have a visitor." We entered the academy and headed for the office. When we walked in, I immediately wanted to bust out.

"Finally. You kept me waiting." She looked like a secretary, with short brown hair, and harsh, yet dull eyes. She had her arms crossed, standing right next to the principal.

"Well hello, what a pleasure it is to see you again." I said mockingly, rolling my eyes for emphasis. Sue looked at her with wide, scared eyes.

"Quiet, boy. I came for her, not you, fool."

"Sue, go get Stein." I told her. She scurried out of the office, and I sat down in front of his desk.

"You have no right to be even close to us. What do you want now?"

"I came for my daughter, rat."

"And what makes you thing you can take her from me?" I said through gritted teeth.

"Do not talk to me as if you have any authority. She is my property." Just as she said it, a flower vase in the corner shattered, the pieces flying everywhere. The two adults jumped up in surprise, but I just clenched my fist.

"You think of her as property? Is she nothing but an object for you?"

"Do not rearrange my words."

"Sir," I said, referring to the principal, a bald man with a plump belly. "Give me on reason why I should give her my daughter?" Thankfully, he was a kind person.

"She has papers, and legal authority over her."

"After you kidnapped my daughter, it took me forever to find her."

"Kidnapped?! I saved her from a drunk stiff woman who left her on the street! If anything, you should apologize to her, and be on your knees begging her for forgiveness! You left her for horseplay with a stranger!" I stood up and yelled, my fists balled and my eyes burning.

"Kane! Back off!" I turned to see Stein, holding Sue's hand.

 _She does not deserve our time. Should I devour her?_

 _You can do that?!_

 _Of course, with your order._

 _No, you can eat?!_

"Now, let me talk. Why would you want to take Sue back now? Why haven't you done so before?" Stein said, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. The light reflecting off his lens covering his eyes.

"What do you mean?" She looked at him with the same stern glare.

"You could have come for her a year ago, and any time in between. So my question is, why would you come for her now, a year after Kane here took her in?"

 _Oooh, this chick just got ooooooooowned!_ I yelled inside my head.

"You do not need to know that. Child, come." She had walked up to me and hidden behind my legs.

"Papa..?" She hugged the legs of my pants and looked up at me. I picked her up and held her. She covered her face, then peeked with one eye at her mother.

"I said come here. Now." I reassured Sue and set her down. She slowly walked up to the woman.

"Get in the car. We're leaving this filthy place."

"B-but-"

"But what?"

"I wanna stay." I watched this quietly.

"You will do as I say. I have complete custody over you. I am your real parent, not this filthy pest."

"D-don't insult my father!" She yelled, taking everyone aback.

"...You raise your voice at me?" The slap was loud, resounding around the room. Sue flinched, and my anger peeked to the point of me trying to blast her all the way to the moon. The next moment I grabbed her wrist and held it hard.

"L-let go of me you-"

"Shut it." I growled, and she did. I gripped her wrist tighter then looked straight in her eyes.

"Now listen to me. You're not getting Sue. Instead, you have two options. You can leave, and never even come close to us, or you can stay, be the mother you really should, and apologize to your daughter." I let go and stood there, watching.

"How dare you lay a hand on me. Do you have any idea what I can do to you?"

"Do you have any idea at what _I_ can do to you? That right there was self restraint, and i'm itching to get on the violent side. You can go ahead and involve authorities, but that's not going to be enough. After all, you left Sue out on the street, and no child should deserve that. And now you're demanding, not begging, for her to come back. So how about this: Until I see you down on your knees sobbing and crying for forgiveness to her, then fine. But it's up to her to decide between the selfish mother who has anything, and the caring boy who has nothing." And then I left. There was complete silence behind me, and I heard footsteps following me.

I stopped at a hallway and leaned against a wall. The footsteps got closer and closer. It was Stein.

"Well that was... interesting." He said, standing next to me.

"I didn't know of anything else to do. That woman shouldn't even be in our eyesight for what she's done."

"What exactly did she do? Other than sleep with another man."

"She's not the mother she should be. She doesn't even care for Sue. Heck, I'd be surprised if she cared for _someone._ She didn't just leave Sue on the street for another man, Franklin. When I found Sue, she was crying right on the sidewalk."

"So it wasn't anything drastic. You're just soft on her."

"Call it what you what. The first time I saw her, it was a feeling of familiarity. I know what it's like to be abandoned. But more than that, I felt something else. Not just sympathy, I actually _felt_ something coming from her. She's just as innocent as you think of her, but something's inside her, and it's worse than what's inside me."

"You mean that 'beast'?" I nodded.

"So then, what now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you just going to sulk around or are you going to do something about it? There are more gifts popping out everywhere, and I need my partner. Now you have two problems, so what are you going to do about them?"

I sighed. He had the strangest ways to try to comfort someone. But still, he was right. That woman always got what she wanted, wether she used the law or not.

"I'll deal with that woman later. Right now, here's the deal." I said, turning to Stein. "I'm going to make a team. Get the others here as well. We're going to need more help if the school is attacked again."

He nodded, and pulled out his cellphone. "I'll make the calls. For now, enjoy your time with Sue."

I did. I picked her up from the office.

"Papa, where are we going?"

"You decide. Today, I want you to have fun." I drove her around the city, going everywhere she wanted to go. We stopped to get ice cream, where she sat on my lap to eat it. Is spilled all over my pants, so she sat over the stain to cover it upThen we went bowling, where she couldn't even lift the ball, so I helped, lifting up the ball and guiding her through we went to the park, and she chased the geese around. Eventually Sue hid behind me from the geese and they swarmed all over even bumped into a tree, and we both laughed until we were on the ground. All the while I took photos, to remember this day, the day where I could be a normal parent to her. A day without dragons or weapons or me beating someone up.

Eventually she grew exhausted, and we were sitting on a bench, Sue sleeping on my lap.

 _She's an energetic one._ I heard Draig say.

 _Of course. Sometimes I still wonder why her mother would do this._

 _I as well._ I put my hand on her cheek, and she grabbed it. I laughed.

"Well, it's about time. I was wondering when you guys would be alone." I looked up to see a figure standing just outside the light. I could only make him out because of his voice.

"And you are?"

"You don't recognize me yet? Well, how about now?" He stepped out of the light. He had shaggy blonde hair with brown eyes and a goofy grin.

"No way..." I set Sue down and stood up

"Been a long time, Kane." Noah said, leaning against the street light. I remembered him from the old days in the lab.

"How did you escape?"

"Care to find out?" He said, his grin turning sneaky.

"Uh, su-" I was cut off as he pulled a long bow staff from behind him and shoved one end into my gut. Right in front of my stomach I saw a green hexagon and heard a musical note once it connected with my gut.

"Heads up." He swung his staff as another hexagon appeared, this time on the length of the staff, and smacked me straight into the side of my head, launching me into the nearest wall with yet another musical note.

"Ow." I got up, groaning as I rubbed my head. Noah twirled his staff professionally and gracefully, making a full rhythmic music as he closed the gap between us. Then he swung downwards and diagonally, aiming for my neck, but I stopped it with my arm. I was about to counter when an unknown force launched me back down.

"What kinda gift is that?"

"I like to call it Bass. I can summon hexagons that on one side I can use, and on the other side it repels anything near it. Like holding two sides of the magnet close to each other. The more the force you try to use on the outer side, it will respond with an equal, or even greater, force to repel it." To set up an example, he balled his hands into fists, five hexagons appearing to completely encase his hand. He then brought it down onto my chest and launched me further into the ground.

"Nice show." I laughed, getting back up to his surprise.

"Aren't you hurt?"

"Please, I got stabbed in the chest earlier today. Not much worse than that." I clapped him on the shoulder, and he returned the gesture, his goofy grin returning.

"You wanna join my team? Fine. Your in." He grinned even wider at this. "Now if you excuse me, it's bedtime for her."

"Who?"

He helped in surprise as Sue jumped on his back and yanked at his hair. He started screaming and running in a circle as he tried to get her off. I watched all this while laughing, thinking it was a great start for a team.

Sadly, the good start didn't hold on for long

End of chapter 7


	8. Chapter 8

_**Hey guys! This is my last pre-written chapter. If I get at the least thirty reviews, then I'll keep writing the story. I will also be posting the second version of this, but it's shorter. This, and the third version are my favorites, but I also have tones of small stories to post. Anyways, enjoy. Thirty reviews to continue this story**_

I ducked as Noah flew past me, landing into the grass. He got up shakily, and turned to see the golem advancing.

"I thought you said this level was easy!"

"It is." I laughed as the golem grabbed him by the collar and spun in a circle, Noah screaming as he was thrown away once again.

"Fine! No more mercy." He growled as hexagons spiraled through his whole body, turning into glowing green armor. They were the color of emeralds, and it covered everywhere except his face. Due to the hexagons under his feet he started hovering above the ground. "Come on!" The golem and Noah both clashed in mid-air, sparks soaring from the golem's hand.

"Yo watch it!" I yelled.

"Don't worry, i'm not going to break your toy."

"I'm more worried about him breaking you!" I said as the golem out-powered Noah, pushing him back using his own power.

"Off." I yelled, and the golem shut down.

"You cheated." Noah said, rubbing his bruised arms.

"Want me to put it on hard mode?"

"Jesus no." He said as he got up and stretched. I tossed his staff back to him. He grabbed it and put it on his shoulders, laying his arms on the staff.

"Is their any faster, easier way for me to get stronger?" He said, almost hopelessly.

"There is. But i'm not letting you take that choice."

"Why not?"

"If you want to live, then don't ask."

"Is that a threat?" He said, swinging his staff.

"It's a warning. Let me show you the golem on hard." I put on the armor and ordered the golem back to life. He advanced at an alarming rate towards me.

I jumped into the air, swinging my arms as they turned into longswords. I brought it down into an arc, flipping completely upside down. The golem blocked, grabbing my arm and swinging me in a circle. The same trick as it did with Noah.

"System change: renew tactic."I said as it changed it's course and brought me into the ground. I gripped it's arm and brought it down beside me. Flipping back onto my feet, I took a stance as the golem rose,

"Initiating new tactics: speed." It suddenly disappeared, moving faster than I could see. It was pure reflex now. I saw a ring of dust closing in.

"Archangel mach 4!" My hair and aura turned golden, and everything seemed to slow down. The golem was closing in quickly, it's fist raised. I couldn't block it in time, but maybe I could use it to my advantage. He approached quickly, so I grabbed the fist, then twisted it and turned around, making the golem fly past me.

"Come on! More!" I yelled as the golem and I clashed again, my aura spreading around me. Waves of golden light flew all around, and I could easily hear the noises made from our collisions. This fight was getting a little easy, so I powered down, my aura glowing a natural blue.

"Yo!" I heard Noah yell as I was about to win. I looked over, and saw him stretching once again.

"How about you against me? Make it even." I was too pumped to stop, so I nodded and lent him my power. Soon we were surrounded by green and blue aura.

"You ready?" I asked. He nodded, and we launched towards each other. I would have landed a big blow, until Sue decided to pop up out of nowhere. I yelped and kicked Noah in the face, launching him up in the air to avoid him bumping into her. He screamed as he flew up in the air, not accustomed to flying.

"Sue! Be careful, that was dangerous." I said as I worriedly looked her up and down for injury. 'What's up?"

"Uncle Stein's here. He wants to come in He says he has friends." Friends? Must have been the recruits.

"Okay, thanks sweetie." I patted her head, picked her up and set her down a few feet away. Then I walked into the center of the garden and looked up to see Noah start falling back down, his way of screaming almost made me laugh. I held out my hand and caught him by the shirt.

"Next time, i'm teaching you how to fly." I said as I dropped him. He lay there panting as he spent the last of his energy, "But first, time to see our team." I walked back into the library, armor deactivated, and found Stein and a bunch of other people sitting right behind the doorway. There, I found Alice and Pheara, my old friends, and one other I didn't recognize. Alice had black hair with brown eyes, while Pheara had red hair with green eyes. Alice was petite while Pheara was regal looking. The new girlhad light brown hair with harsh, scanning eyes. Sue was right behind me, and Noah was still at the garden.

"Welcome all." I gave them permission to enter, and they all did.

"Okay, i'm going to go straight down to business. First, an introduction." I gestured at the new girl, and she stood up.

"I'm Harley Grace." She said.

"You mean like the motorcycle?" I asked innocently, but she just rolled her eyes and said "Yeah, exactly." then sat back down.

"By the way, where's Chase?" I asked, this time to Stein. Alice and Pheara closed their eyes, and Stein just shook his head.

"Chase has been compromised." Was all he said. Alice's jaw trembled, and Pheara balled her fists. Then I understood.

"I'm sorry." I hung my head down to hide my Pheara spoke up.

"It was when you left. A bunch of guards busted in, they had tranquilizer darts. Alice got hit, so he told me to take her and leave. I didn't dare to look back." Her voice broke, and Alice whimpered.

"Listen, you don't have to explain anything to me." I reassured them. Harley was just looking at the table, her face void of any emotion.

"Hey, Sue, can you go get Noah? It's time to start this meeting." She nodded and skipped off.

"So are all of you here for the team." The three girls nodded, but Stein shook his head.

"I'm just the supervisor. I don't work with teams." Just then, Noah walked back into the house, taking steady steps.

"I think I just puked." He said, sitting down and putting his head on the desk. Harley looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Then she looked at me with the same expression.

"I beat him to a pulp." I explained quickly. She nodded and understood.

"Anyway, i'm going to be honest. Everyone here at this table is in danger just for being alive. What we do is dangerous. People will die, innocent or not, and we will do everything in our power to prevent it. But sometimes we can't, and people die no matter how we try to prevent it. I'm going to train you. Along with that, you guys will train me. We're going to learn from each other. I'm not going to make you guys get along with each other, but I want you to understand one another like a book. And if anyone has an idea, share it. Doesn't matter if it's stupid. If you have a problem, say it. And most importantly, we're going to trust each other. Got it?" I said, and everyone nodded. "Good. Now, let's head to the garden for your tests. Stein, you coming? I can use an extra hand." He nodded, and all of us left. We headed out to the garden, Sue with her little golems playing some game. We walked onto the big stone square arena.

"Alright, so now we're going to assess your gifts. You will fight me with all you got, and Stein will learn your gift. Pheara, you first." She stepped up to the square. She wore a plain white shirt with a long black skirt, her red hair tied into a long pony tail. I activated my armor.

"Now, come at me." I stood stock still, not in a stance but with my hands down and feet firmly planted.

"Very well." She whipped her hand as flames enveloped her whole hand. They spiraled outwards and turned into a great red sword. It was one sided and curved towards the end.

"Will you not fight?"

"I'm the body bag." I said, still not moving.

"I do not mark my flame against anyone weaker. At least hold a weapon." She held the sword to her side and held her hand on her hip, her green eyes piercing.

"Fine. How about this?" I lifted my hand and a cannon formed.

She nodded, then took a stance. When she charged, fire sparked from her feet, hair and arms. She went in a downward diagonal slash. I twirled, letting her pass me, then twisted and tapped the gun on the flat of her back.

"Too easy." I straightened up. "How was that?" I asked to Stein.

"I have to learn her attack, so just let her hit you." Apparently, Pheara took that as a sign and went berserk. She hit the blade against my back, then twirling it and slid it under my foot, raising it to trip me. I took the fall, cursing Stein to no end. Then came the burn. Literally. She cooked me. By the time she finished, I could barely hold my aura up to block all the damage.

"How did you know I had a shield?" I asked.

"I did not." I was about to laugh but then saw her innocent expression. You've got to be kidding me.

"Stein, please tell me you know about it now. I don't want my sausage cooked."

"Pyro technic. She can create heat automatically. The problem is containing it."

"Got it, next up is Alice. You ready?" I asked her as she stepped up shyly. She wore some strange garment that I couldn't even begin to describe. She nodded, and folded her hands in a prayer pose.

I was about to get ready when something knocked me onto my side. I landed hard, and looked up to see an enlarged wolverine snarling above me.

"I'm a summoner." Was all she said as the beast paddled up to her and lay by her side.

"Anyone wanna switch places? I'm not in the mood to get bitten. Or scratched. Or hit in any way in particular." I said with my eyes closed, still lying on the ground.

"Kane, I have an idea."

"Huh?"

"Lend her some power."

"Aw. Hell. No." I said. The wolverine snarled at me, it's eyes glowing.

"Fine." My flow of aura transferred to her, and the wolverine shivered, growing and growling until it was a full grown grizzly bear, rearing up and roaring.

"Papa, that doggy grew up fast!" Sure said, pointing and jumping at the bear.

"No Sue, it's not a dog. First it was a wolverine now it's- AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed as the bear bit down on my head and picked me up. It shook me, froth running down it's jaw and onto my face.

"WHY DOES IT HAVE TO DROOL?! THE BITING IS NOT OKAY, BUT THE SLOBBER IS DEFINITELY OU- OHMYGODIT'SBREATHINGDOWNMYNECKTHAT'SWEIRD!" I screamed as the beast used me as a living chew toy. It then dropped me, returning to Alice's side.

"Well, we all know that ability now."

 _We should have come sooner to watch the show._ I heard a female voice chuckle as I saw seven dragons landing out of nowhere into the courtyard.

"What the-how did you get in the _Graegor_?" I asked.

 _Boy, we_ _ **invented**_ _the Graegor. Who would construct a place that they couldn't even enter?_

"Ah, whatever." I said as they turned back into girls. "Ladies, team. Team, ladies." I pointed at each of them, and they introduced each other.

"So, now it's Harley's turn." stein said. He had grabbed a notebook and pencil and had started writing down notes.

"Finally, my turn to work out." She stretched, walking up onto the arena.

"Please tell me your power doesn't have anything to do with drool, or fire. Or mouths." I said, standing up shakily.

"Grease and oil." Was all she said, cracking her knuckles and pulling out her phone, dialing seemingly random buttons.

"Eh?"

"Watch." She put the phone away and pulled out what looked like a big metal rectangle. She pressed the top, and it expanded, branches of metal protruding. She put the base of the metal in her back, and what looked like an exoskeleton appeared. She stood two feet taller, and the cockpit was thick enough for her to move her arms and legs in.

"I'm a mechanic." She put her enormous metal arms into the air, closing into a flexing pose.

"Dear God." I said as she stomped towards me.

"Target locked." A visor fell down and a red mark appeared in front of her eye.

"Not even gonna complain." I slumped down as missiles protruded from her back, all of them firing into the air, and then turning towards me. I barely had enough energy to lift up my shield, blocking the barrage.

"Okay okay I get it." I waved for her to step down.

"Stein, what do you think?" I stepped down from the arena and joined up with everyone, taking off the armor and wiping the bear spit from my face.

Stein stayed silent, looking at each of us.

"...This is the most unprepared, uncontrollable and unpredictable group of kids I have ever seen." I stayed silent and looked at him, trying to see what his point was.

"It would take weeks to train you kids into a proper team, as well as seeing your limits. I will have to supervise all of you, sometimes individually. This team is going to argue, bark and bite at each other, especially Noah over there..." He looked up from his nap and showed Stein a rude gesture.

 _Can you put it any other way...?_ I thought.

 _He is correct._ I heard Draig say. If he were alive, dragon or human, I would have asked Harley to hit him with a couple missiles.

"...But, I must say. This is going to be one heck of a ride, for all of us." I sighed in relief as he smiled, and Pheara smiled at Alice.

"So, you guys in?" I asked the girls and Noah.

"I wanna join too!" Yelled Sue, jumping up and down. I looked down and smiled at her.

"Well, what do you say?" I asked, and the kids grew silent once again.

"... I'm in." Noah said, standing up and hanging his staff on his shoulder.

"Me too." Alice said.

"If my sister is in, so am I." Pheara said, standing next to her and putting her arms on Alice's shoulder.

"Count me in. I'm going to build real firepower with this team." They all smiled to me and each other.

"So boss, what's our first mission?" Noah said to me. The question neither surprised me nor was expected.

"We find the scientists who locked us up as kids." I said. "They're still going at it, capturing kids like us. We need to find where they are residing in, and take them out." I said, looking at each of their shocked faces. I was about to go on, when Pheara walked up to me, and slapped me hard right across the face, stopping me dead in my tracks.

"W-what the-"

"Silence! How dare you?!"

"What did I do?!"

"Why do you think we formed a team, in our opinion?" I shrugged, still not understanding.

"We ran from the lab, we ran from our _friends_ pleading us to help _them_ escape. I lost my mother and father from those people! What makes you think I even want to confront them?!" I looked at her pained, horrified expression, and sighed.

"Remember what I said in the beginning?" She stayed silent.

"I said that this wasn't going to be easy. That's why I need a team. And what makes your opinions so different from those other locked up, experimented on, tortured and suffering?" I growled, staring her down and stepping forward, making her take a step back.

"I understand you don't want to do this! I of all people understand. Sometimes, I like to think my brother still has a chance of being rescued! And what about those who don't have a chance?! What do you think they're thinking right now?" Pheara looked down and closed her eyes.

"Stein and I are doing the best we can to raise and save kids with these gifts, but it's something we can't do alone."

"If that, then how do you think four others will help?"

"Pheara, you understand what it's like to have to protect someone, like me. Harley, you wouldn't have joined this team if you were involved with the lab one way or another. Alice, you understand the kid's point of view. You were their, like us, and with that, you grew to be more worried for others. Noah, you were there, you saw what they did to kids. That should be inspiration enough. With all of this, the weight is on our shoulders to fix this." I said, yelling at the top of my lungs. This shut her up.

"I know you're afraid, but those kids in there feel twice the fear you do. For their lives, and their comrade's too. I'm not ordering you to, i'm asking you to. Please." Everyone remained quiet, eyeing each other. It was silent for what seemed like an eternity.

"...Fine. We're in. Lead us wisely, Kane." Pheara said while others nodded.

"Alright then. I guess that's all for today. Now, you guys can go home."

"What about me?" Noah said.

"Stein?"

"Take the apartment next to mine." He said, and they all left, leaving me, Sue, and the seven monarchs alone.

"Papa can we play?"

"I would love to, except right now my arms are broken. Can you guys help with that?" I asked the girls, and aura flowed from them to my arms. I heard (but mostly felt) My bones snapping and cracking back into place. When they finished I stretched my arms, glad to have the pain gone.

"Thanks. You guys wanna play too?"

"Boy, we are the monarchs of the dragons, the oldest species known on this earth. Do you think we are childiash enough to-"

"Tag, you're it." I said, poking Shade right in the shoulder.

"Eh?" She said, looking confusedly as we all ran from her.

I stopped in my tracks. "I tagged you, so now you have to chase us and tag someone else." I explained, walking up to her.

"B-but i-"

"It's just to have fun." I laughed and ran off, looking back to see her running off after Gold.

"Papa over here!" Sue was hiding in a bush, and I joined her. She held something up for me. It was the flute she had given me.

"Play it." She said, jumping up and down in excitement.

"Ah, alright." I grabbed it and reluctantly played it. I could hear the commotion with the other girls slowly stop as they heard my music. It was embarrassing, seeing them watch me and Sue clapping her hands.

Then I heard something new. Gold and Jade had raised their voices, matching their song to my rhythm . They used words I couldn't even comprehend.

 _They sing in dragontongue._ I heard Draig say, and I kept playing. Eventually all the monarch were singing to my rhythm.

We played until the sun set. To me, this felt like something I had been trying to build again: a family

End of chapter 8


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